A new life
by Bashabuttonstorys
Summary: How did Asuna and Kirito get used to life after the events of Sao? This is my interpretation. (Warning spoilers and Senseless fluff) KiritoxAsuna!
1. Morning rush

**Author's note.**

**I think this is how you put notes in... yeah...**

**Anyway this is my fluffy nonsense inspired by momoxtoshiro! There are references to her Moments and other fanfic so look out for them!**

**Enough from me read on!**

**Disclaimer:I do not own sword art online :(**

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Chapter 1

Kazuto Awoke to the sun shining on his face and the morning dew dripping off the windows. He drearily sat up and, half asleep, looked at his clock. 9:00.

"Wah-! I'm late?! How could I not have set the alarm! I swear i did last night!" He questioned as he hurried downstairs to breakfast while still doing up the buttons on his uniform. He quickly poured the cereal into the bowl spilling many onto the ground in his rush.

After finishing he packed his bag and reached for the doorknob.

"Kazuto-kun, What are you doing?" Sugu said looking like she was going to colapse on the floor from tiredness, "I'm going to school! I'm late!" Sugu looked at him puzzled, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"What?" Kazuto said, incredibly confused

"There's no school today silly! It's the weekend!" She managed to say between giggles.

Kazuto stood there feeling amazingly dumb but also relived as he now had a whole day to spend with Asuna, the red flushed his cheeks and he released his grip on the door handle.

"Oh... right! Haha... clumsy me" he said with an amused but bewildered expression.

"ahhh Kazuto, you never fail to make me chuckle!" she said to herself skipping off down the hall.

Slightly embarrassed he ran upstairs and got dressed into his usual black and grey attire this time with a pair of black socks, a very dark navy t-shirt that was almost black and a grey sweatshirt on top. He grabbed his phone off the table and started to text Asuna, after explaining his hectic morning he agreed to meet her at the their favorite place, the park bench next to the pink blossom tree.

After what seemed like a very long walk in the chilled morning suddenly all became worthwhile when he saw Asuna, She wore a long white spring dress, similar to that of her knights of the blood oath attire, which stopped at her knees giving way to a short red ruffle that swirled in the frosty air of the day. Kazuto stopped, mouth unable to close fully as his eyes drifted to her beautiful clothing. She had braided her long flowing chestnut hair around the back of her head, letting the rest of her hair to swing freely in the breeze.

Asuna stood looking at Kazuto wondering if it was too flashy or not flashy enough.

"Kirito-kun... You don't like it do you...?" She asked shaking her head in regret,

"Like it? No... I love it." Asuna blushed at his honest and affectionate words as he grabbed her and leaned in to kiss. Parting only because of the need for air, he quickly skimmed his mind for ideas on where to go _Park? No, I need something different something like... _

"Why don't we go for a hike?" Asuna said fiddling with her familiar heart shaped necklace and knowing exactly what he was thinking,

"Y-yeah, that actually sounds quite fun! Did you bring lunch?"

"Course! How could I forget Kirito's favourite spicy sandwiches?"

"...The ones with soy sauce?!" He exclaimed dragging her in from her waist,

"What else would I make?" Asuna whispered softly, seeing her boyfriends adorable expression as they headed off towards the forest, hands entwined.

The forest was humming with singing birds and croaking animals and insects but the giggles and laughter coming from the couple almost seemed to light the forest up in a lovely atmosphere that could lighten up any glum person who entered. They walked and walked complementing the scenery and affectionately gazing at one another.

Kirito kept on thinking about those sandwiches, he had only released Asuna about 3 months ago but the taste and texture of those sandwiches that were now real, not some virtual representation, still made him excited like a 6 year old on his/her way to a fairground. Asuna looked at him and instantly saw what was going on in his mind. she knew it wasn't really time for lunch yet, but to see his adorable and blissful expression was worth being a bit hungrier later on. She took her basket and started staring at it like she was wondering what to do, Kirito saw her and started to give those irresistible puppy eyes that made her want to give him them so much more.

"Kirito-kun..." she said in her cutest voice possible, "Are you sure you don't want to save them for later?

"N-no! Later me can be hungry for now They just look so tasty!" Asuna laid down the blanket and they sat cross-legged, Kirito munching and scoffing his sandwiches and Asuna taking proper, much smaller bites, when Kazuto finished his sandwich 10 minutes before Asuna he longed for more, but he waited patiently, running his fingers through her hair as she ate hers.

"Ah! Another delightful meal from the best girlfriend in the world! Yum!" Kirito said, quite full of himself,

"I only make them for the best boyfriend in the world..." Asuna said quite timidly.

Kirito pulled her in closer and pressed his lips to hers, Asuna didn't have time to be shocked as she closer her eyes in his warm contact, as the began to break apart they opened their eyes and their gazes met, Kirito's dark onyx eyes stared lovingly into her Bright chestnut ones and they sat there in each others arms just listening to the tranquility around them.

The loud ringtone of Kazuto's phone disrupted the peaceful mood and he cursed it for ruining his moment.

"Hello? This better be good beca-"

"Kirito! Haha how's it going?"

The loud cocky voice was instantly recognisable as Klein. Since he got back he had been working hard to get his life back on track and hadn't seen much of Kazuto or Agil but recently he had tried to get in touch more, since he thought things were calming down.

"I'm just in the middle of something here Klein!" He said harshly but quietly as he turned his back to Asuna, little knowing that his phone was on full volume allowing Asuna to overhear everything

"Ah! Getting a little carried away are we? Only 2 months back and alread-"

"Shhh! We were just kissing ok?!" Then he realised how stupid it was to tell that to Klein,

"Fine fine... Anyway me and Agil were going to meet up at Agil's newly opened pub wanna come?"

"When are you going?" discarding his earlier thoughts,

"In 10 minutes"

"Sorry, I'm on a date with Asuna bu-"

"Thats fine, if you want you can bring her but I understand, Bye!"

He closed the phone and shoved it back in his pocket, this time on silent.

"Sorry about that, it's just Klein-"

"It's fine if you wanna go! I'll come along!" She said enthusiasticly

"E-Eh? You overheard that? Did you hear the whole thing?" he said losing his balance as he waved his arms furiously,

"Yeah.." She blushed knowing what he meant "But I'm sure Klein won't say anything!"

Kazuto scratched his head "Are you sure, It's not exactly going to be the most romantic place you've every been to..."

"Any place with you is romantic Kirito-kun" She smiled back.

"Well if you really don't mind..."

They packed up and started to walk back hand in hand, the sun reflecting off all the leaves of each tree.

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**Hope you liked it! If someone reads it I'll try to make it a weekly or daily or something-ly thingy!**


	2. Firsts

**Author's notes**

**Wow! People actually read my fanfic! **

**Thanks so much, I'll write as many chapters as I can!**

**Oh and last chapter was a bit sloppy sorry about that...**

**Anyway on with Chapter 2!**

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Chapter 2

The bell rang as Asuna and Kazuto opened the door to a scent of fresh paint and new wood. It was rather small housing only 8 tables, but it was perfect for the area in which they lived. The inside was plain and simple but cozy never the less.

"Kazuto! Asuna! You came! Do you like the place?" Agil was washing his glasses.

"Yep! We needed to see how you'd been getting on without an anvil!" Kazuto joked,

"Sorry about it not being the most romantic place you could've brought Asuna.." Agil said with a hint of regret,

"No Worries! As long as I'm with Kirito I'm fine! " Asuna suddenly piped up in between them, with a happy expression showing she really didn't mind.

Klein sat drinking a pint of beer looking Much more relaxed than the past couple of weeks,

"Kirito, Asuna, you came?" He stumbled over, hardly staying upright,

"Klein, how many drinks have you had?"

"Two or five... I'm not -Hic!- drunk!" Klein said trying not to collapse,

"Agil? How many has he had?" Asuna propped Klein up while still holding Kazuto's hand

"Many, but I figured he was a bit stressed so.." Asuna gave him a sought of joke glare as to say, oh, you! Kazuto sat down with Asuna across from Klein on a table near the bar.

"Asuna" He said quietly, "You know what Klein is like, you can imagine him drunk, do you wanna head off home? I'll look after Klein once I've walked you back." Kazuto said concerned.

"I can handle a bit of cockiness from a drunk friend! Besides, I want to stay with you a little longer" She said snuggling her forehead into his arm

"Well ok, but let me know if you want to go, ok?"

They sat in the bar, ordering soda's, chatting and giggling at Klein's Drunken behavior that made him, at least to those two, absolutely hilarious. A good couple of hours later, Asuna realized she was past her curfew, "Oh shoot! Kirito-kun, It's half past six! I really got to go, you know my curfew is six!" She was incredibly worried, running every scenario threw her mind of what her parents would do, _Will they ground me? Stop me seeing Kirito? Oh no... what am I going to do? _Just then Kazuto piped up, "Don't worry... it's my fault, I'll take the blame." Kazuto said

"No you can't! They could- They could-"

"Don't worry, I'll sought it out! I always do, don't I?"

They left Klein with Agil and left the bar. On the way back Asuna wouldn't stop looking down and worrying about how much trouble her boyfriend was about to be in, and so was she if Kazuto couldn't think of anything to calm her parents down.

"You're gonna be fine, Stop worrying."

"I know I know, It's just.. *sigh* What if they stop me seeing you?"

That struck him, _What if she's right? Oh no, now I'm worrying... I'm sure they won't, It's only happened once..._

"They won't, I promise..." He leaned in, their lips touched and suddenly Asuna was lost in his kiss, both of them forgot all their worries and became oblivious to the area surrounding them.

Ding... Ding... "Are you sure your parents are home?"

"Yes of course! Why wouldn't they be?" Asuna said worry in her tone,

"Well we've been here for five minutes, and still no answer, maybe they went out thinking you'd be back on time anyway?"

"Maybe, but what if they're looking for me?" She said, even more worried than before,

"Listen just go in and wait for them to get back, I'll stay here for you and help you if you need it."

"You can't stay out here in the cold!"

"I'll be fine"

"No you won't!... If...If you want to come in for a bit then maybe.."

"Really? N-no I can't I'll-"

"Oh come on Kirito! It's only for half an hour or so. Besides... I'd like you to stay..."

"Well only if you say so..."

"Come on in, you'll be out by the time they're back I'll get you a tea and get you warmed up then you can be on your way!" She smiled with enthusiasm and gave a thumbs up.

Her house was extravagant. There were Paintings in all the rooms which were the size of two of Kazuto's living rooms, and the carpet was amazingly soft but still very flashy, the hallway seemed to stretch out forever and the stairs swirled around to a huge landing.

Kazuto stood there jaw open as he looked around his girlfriend's most amazing house, and eventually realized that he had to keep his mouth shut and he was, in fact, standing next to Asuna who was blushing at his amazement.

He reluctantly sat down on her sofa while she made them both some tea. He felt extremely rude being here without any proper permission from her parents, but also comfortable in the company of Asuna.

Asuna laid down the tray on the table in front of the sofa, and turned the TV on, she sat next to Kazuto and snuggled her head into his shoulder, Kazuto looked at her, she was in such a cute state so he proceeded to wrap his arm around her shoulders lovingly. The TV was simply background noise as he felt for the first time what it was really like to snuggle with his girlfriend, he had done it many times in Sao but this was the first time without some fake virtual system displaying it to him, _this is real, _he thought happily to himself.

He made a mental note of all his firsts in real life, and found so many he decided to make an actual list when he got home, _first time really holding hands, first real kiss, first real snuggle, fir-_ "Kirito-kun, hey, what are you thinking about?" she nudged him and snapped him out of his trance,

"Wha-, Oh, nothing just all the first thing we've done together since you got out of Alo."

"Like what?" she said genuinely intrigued

"well, like now, this is our first time snuggling in real life."

"Y-yeah! I guess it is... Hey! We should make a list!

"I was thinking of doing that when I got back, I'll send you a copy of it if you want me to."

"That would be amazing Kirito-kun"

"Good" He pressed his forehead against hers and he closed his eyes as she did the same.

A good hour later her parents arrived home, They apologized to Asuna for being late and getting stuck in traffic as he snuck out the back door, not wanting to confront them in his tired state.

He returned to Agil's pub where he found Agil alone. "Hey, wheres Klein?"

"I walked him home, he wasn't doing to good"

"Ah- sorry I should've got back sooner bu-"

"Don't worry about it, You should get back home too, you looked shattered! Haha"

"Yeah... Thanks for the drinks, love your pub, we'll be back every now and again!

"See ya!

The bell rung as he stepped into the fresh cold. "*sigh* Today was good..."

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**Thanks for the reviews! I'll just try to get these out whenever i have time, Thanks for the support!**


	3. Wobbles

**Author's notes**  
** Thanks again for reading last weeks, feel free to post ideas on what I could do next, I need as many as possible! :)**

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Chapter 3

Kazuto yawned as he stirred from his slumber, "gah, what a night, wait, why am I not in my bed?" he was still sitting a this desk, pen in hand.  
"I must've fallen asleep while I was writing that list of firsts! What time did I get back?"  
he ran downstairs to breakfast, "Morning Sugu and aunt, doing anything today?"  
"Where were you last night young man?" his aunt said in a disappointed voice.  
"Eh? But I don't have a curfew..."  
"That's no reason to be out so late."  
"What are you talking about I was back at like, 8:30" Kazuto now trembling at the thought of being grounded  
"Got you! hahahaha morning Kazuto, oh the look on your face"  
"E-Eh!"  
"Oh Kazuto" Sugu joined in "that was a brilliant performance!"  
"Oh I get it, playing tricks on me in the morning eh... I'll get you back for this! When you least expect it!"  
"ohhhhh scary!" she said sarcastically.

After a quick shower he put on the nerve gear, "Link start!"  
And like that he was back in alfheim. "Hey! Yui-chan."  
"Papa! You came! I thought you were only logging in on Mondays after school!" (he did this because of he wasn't ready to start playing again, but needed to see Yui) "Papa wanted to see you so bad he logged on anyways, how are you doing? Are you ok?"  
"Why wouldn't I be Papa?"  
"Just checking"  
"Alright... Can we play hide and seek?"  
"oh alright but you have to be in child form not pixie ok?"  
"98..99..100 here I come, ready or not!"  
Kazuto searched behind every tree and in every bush but he couldn't find her, until he heard giggle coming from on of the tree's canopys, he flew up and found her sitting looking down through the leaves.  
"found you!"  
"Gwaaah! Papa you scared me!"  
"You can't cheat by flying up her then transforming into human form!"  
"Yes I can! I just did"  
"Come on cheeky, let's get to a town." They flew to the nearest town and found a cheap inn to log off, "Alright, see you tomorrow Yui!"  
"Bye Papa! say hello to mama for me!"  
"Will do!"  
He logged out. He sighed from relief as he got off his bed each time thinking what if next time I can't log off then dismissing the idea. He got dressed this time with his usual black shirt and trousers, then spiking his hair in the bathroom mirror. He grabbed his cellphone and called Asuna.  
"Hey, do you wanna come meet me? ... yeah... the bench, yes... yep okay see you there!"  
He hung up and went outside, he unhooked his bike and rode off towards the park. He started wobbling on it and forgot this was his first time in years riding his bike and actually thinking about what he was doing in real life, he looked up just as he smashed into the curb.  
"ahhhh" he looked around and saw his bike in a heap, thankfully still in one piece. He looked around, no one seemed to have seen his crash so he got up walked to his bike and picked it up, "well I guess I've lost my touch... but I rode to Asuna on the day I released her... maybe pure adrenaline helped me or something eh well that's something else I have to learn again..." Annoyed he walked his bike, slightly limping, to the designated spot.  
"Kirito! Are you alright? What happened?"  
"I'm fine, just forgot how to ride a bike! haha, that's a first, fall off bike on the way to meet Asuna" he joked.  
Suddenly he became dizzy and sat on the bench in a huge oof.  
"Woah... Just give me a minute, sorry about this Asuna"  
"I don't know what you mean Kirito, its fine! But are you sure you're alright?"  
She embraced him pulling his head to her chest, and as she slid her hand round to the back of his head it felt warm but wet, she pulled her hand away to find it was covered in blood.  
"Uwaaaah!" she shrieked "Kirito you- you're bleeding!"  
"Am I?! Where?"  
"Your head! The back!"  
"oh yeah, I'll just get a bandage or something to-"  
Once again a wave of dizziness only worse hit him.  
"I'm gonna get you to a doctor! One sec"  
She lifted him onto her shoulder and headed back toward to city hospital which was a two minute walk from the park.  
Kirito grabbed his bike as he limped to the hospital with Asuna.

"A Miss Yukko and a Mister Kirigaya, please head in." the loudspeaker announced and the couple went in to a doctors room.  
"Hello, What's the problem Miss?" the doctor said calmly  
"Kirito here fell off his bike and cut the back of his head, is it serious? is there a problem or anything?"  
"let me take a look, How are you feeling Kirito?"  
"E-eh, I'm fine just need a-a *yawn* bandage or something"  
"well you don't look fine"  
He examined his head and found that the dizziness was simply due to loss of blood and he would be fine as long as he drank and had plenty of sugar today.

"For gods sake Kazuto, you had me so scared for the moment!"  
"sorry... not a brilliant start to the day, hey?"  
"oh well... its nearly lunch by the way"  
"Is it? that's awesome! Do you wanna have a picnic? We could go to Agil's pub and have lunch there if you wanted."  
"Let's have a picnic Kirito, we haven't had one in ages!"  
"okay!"  
They set the blanket down next to the pond and had their picnic, Kazuto still having his favourite spicy sandwiches.  
They then sat in one another's arms, basking in the sun which reflected off the beautiful pond before them.  
"Hey, isn't that Scilica and Lisbeth?" Kazuto suddenly questioned  
"Ah! Quick hide!" Asuna said quite worried  
"Wh-why?"  
"because... it's embarrassing"  
"Why? We've been officially dating for over two months now, they know we do stuff like this"  
"Yeah but it's still..."  
"Don't worry, I won't do anything embarrassing in front of them" he reassured.  
"Eh, what do we have here?" Lisbeth said as she strode over,  
"Hehe, looks like these two are enjoying themselves!" Scilica said from behind, giggling between her fingers, Asuna's, cheeks flushed red and she whimpered softly, "Yes, just enjoying a picnic" Kazuto butted in, "What are you two up to?"  
"Well we were on our way to Agil's new pub to check it out, but then we saw you on your way to the park, we noticed you had a bandage around your head so we came to ask if you were ok, are you ok?"  
"I'm fine, just fell off my bike, Asuna here helped me to the hospital." he said smiling at her just as her lowered her head to hide her blush. "Anyway have you seen Klein? He got drunk yesterday and I haven't seen him around town like usual..."  
"Oh, yeah, we were looking for him to see if he wanted to come, he's in his house recovering from what looked like a hangover! haha"  
"see you to later! hehehe" Scilica giggled.  
"See? That wasn't that bad," Kazuto said triumphantly,  
"Yeah... I guess not." Kazuto grabbed both of her hands in his, and whispered "Nothing's embarrassing when you're with me."  
and they kissed for a long moment before pulling away for air.

"Aunt, Sugu, I'm home!" Kazuto said as he opened the door to his house,  
"Hey, Kazu- What happened to your head!" His Aunt and Sugu said in sync,  
"Oh, I'm not as good on a bike as I used to be, but I'm fine, Asuna took me to the hospital and they just bandage me up and gave me a couple of energy drinks to get the sugar back up."  
"Do you need some more? Or some sanitiser or something?" his Aunt said worried,  
"No no, I'm fine." Kazuto repeated,  
"Fine... How was your day with Asuna?"  
"Good, good,"  
"didn't do anything naughty did you?" Sugu teased,  
"E-eh?! No!"  
"Geez, I'm only teasing!"

And with that Kazuto went upstairs to bed, "huh, that's another first, first trip to the hospital together"

Asuna slumped on to her bed and sighed a huge sigh of relief,  
"I love you Kirito..." and she pressed the small round button on her heart shaped necklace Kazuto had gotten her the first Christmas  
they got out of the death game and Alo.

Dear Asuna,

I love you, always and forevermore.

- Kazuto

And the green light faded into the air...

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**Thanks again for reading, the heart shaped necklace is a reference to momoxtoshiro's moments fanfic, check it out!**  
** Please review! If you find any mistakes it's due to me writing on my tablet, The auto correct system is terrible!**


	4. Late night

**Author's notes.**  
**Hello again, Thanks for the support as always!**  
**Sorry if last week's wasn't as good, it didn't quite pan out as originally thought.**  
**Onwards with Kirito and Asuna!**

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Chapter 4.

"Asuna! Get up now!"  
Asuna hated alarm clocks. They would just take the calm collected person she was and turn her into a infuriated witch, which was a side of her she couldn't stand. Asuna had never got another alarm clock since she was 4 and so her parents, normally rather rudely, woke her every morning.  
"Don't make me come up there, I have work you know!"  
"Yes mum! I'm coming!"  
Asuna swung herself out of bed and opened the wardrobe, she grabbed her neatly folded uniform and laid it gently on the bed. In the bathroom she swiftly brushed her teeth after a shower.  
She made her own breakfast and packed some lunch for Kazuto, and even though she knew he probably already had some, Asuna always packed him his favourite sandwiches, just for the taste.  
"Asuna!? Just wanted to say we'll be out again tonight ok?"  
"Ok mum!" Perfect! she thought, I'll be able to invite Kirito-kun!

She made her way to the bench under the cherry blossom tree. She arrived first as always and took a seat. Asuna usually only had to wait 2 or 3 minutes for Kazuto, but sometimes he would sleep in or spent to long in the shower, at least those were his excuses, she knew he most likely got up early to see Yui then got distracted.  
"Hey Asuna! Ah... Sorry I'm late, It's just-"  
"No need for an excuse, you're here now aren't you? Hey! You're wearing the scarf I made you!"  
"Yup, it's as comfortable as ever, fresh today, isn't it!"  
"Yep, but it looks like it'll warm up later, I was wondering if you would want to come over again tonight? I... liked having you over last night Kirito and this time my parents are gonna be out all night..."  
Kazuto scratched the back of his head and looked down blushing.  
"Well I don't like to be rude so-"  
"How can it be rude if I've invited you? Come on Kirito-kun"  
He then smirked and Asuna hooked her arm around his, and gave him her best puppy eyes,  
"Yes, I'd love to Asuna!"  
"Yay! Straight after school?"  
"Perfect!"  
They walked down the early spring morning in silence taking in the wonderful scents and scenery, the flowers budding, the trees blossoming and the bees buzzing. Asuna kept stopping to kneel down and smell the new flowers, Kazuto stood and watched as his Lightning flash was captivated by the real beauty of spring, Hey, that's a first, he thought, first real spring together! He noted that down mentally and told her to hurry as it was getting close to lesson start.

"Today we learn about the tropical storm. The tropical storm, is also known as..."  
Kazuto was bored, he was interested in most lessons but geography had to be the worst, he sat doodling in the back of his book, half listening to the teacher in case he asked a question.  
"Psst, Kirito-kun, you can make it through, it's only an hour" Asuna said trying to cheer up Kazuto.  
"But it's so monotonous... ugh." He regretted picking this as one of his options in year nine, he found it interesting in primary school, but year ten it turned into his worst subject. He looked across his two friends, Lisbeth looked almost as bored as he could see she had many doodles of her swords from her blacksmithing days, Scilica on the other hand was enthusiastic soaking up the information that was thrown at her.  
"Come on Kirito, he'll notice you and you'll be questioned and humiliated in front of the class" Asuna said, concerned  
"Alright, alright. I'm listening"  
The class dragged on and on, the last lesson of the day and he felt like time had slowed down. 10 more minutes... I can do this.  
Tick...tock...tick...tock He couldn't manage to move his eyes from the clock for a second, the red second hand ticked closer and closer until... Riiiing.  
"Class dismissed!"  
"Thank god that's over" He swung his bag onto his back and grabbed Asuna's hand, he pulled her out of the classroom and hurried toward the door.  
"Not so fast" Lisbeth blocked the doorway and smirked in a suggestive way,  
"Were are you two lovebirds going in such a hurry?"  
"Ugh, Lisbeth move out the way, I just wanna go out of school."  
"Sure. Actually what I wanted to say was that me and Scilica were gonna go on a trip up the mountains this weekend, to go camping, wanna come?"  
"Well I dunno, Asuna, do you want to?"  
"Sure, sounds like fun, unless you don't want to Kirito-kun..."  
"No if you're good then I wanna go"  
"It's decided then, see you there lovebirds!" Lisbeth walked off to go find Scilica.  
"Will she ever stop calling us lovebirds?" Asuna growled,  
"Nah, but we are aren't we" Kazuto pointed out,  
"Well yeah but that's not the point..."

They walked towards the Yukki residence, hands entwined,  
"What's up?"  
Kazuto hadn't even noticed his slightly concerned expression,  
"E-Eh!? Oh, no nothing, just thinking about the camping trip thingy."  
"What about it Kirito-kun? Do you not want to go? We don't have to..."  
"No,no its not that, just will you be alright? There's no shower or anything in a morning and will your parents let you? Lisbeth didn't give us any details either, I'm just running everything through my mind, that's all..."  
"Ha! I'll be fine. Stop worrying about it, we can ask her tomorrow, In the mean time, I want to be with my black swordsman"  
"Thanks, Miss lightning flash"  
They leaned in to kiss, pressing their lips together, Kazuto gently ran his fingers through her soft chestnut hair, continuing down until he reached her waist, he pulled her in closer and leaned her backwards. This romantic moment made Asuna's cheeks flush red, as she swung her arms round his neck, giggling.  
As they stepped up to the door, Kazuto stiffened, he wouldn't stop thinking about whether this was rude or not, or if it should be him inviting her to his house, he looked at Asuna who seemed as happy as ever and that instantly dissipated his worries. If it was rude she wouldn't have invited me would she? Let's just be cool, be cool.  
She unlocked the door to her extravagant house, which still managed to amaze Kazuto. They stepped in, Kazuto after Asuna, who was almost jumping with excitement, he took off his shoes and stood shuffling his feet.  
"Make yourself at home! Stop being so stiff! Haha"  
"...This is right yeah? I'm not being rude..."  
"What has the great Kirito the black swordsman-sama never been to a girls house before?"  
"Well... no actually."  
"Eh? Really? Oh, just stop worrying and be your normal self again."  
He walked to the sofa and fell onto it burying his head into a cushion.  
"Ah! ... Really Kirito-kun?"  
He had one leg on the arm of the sofa, one leg off the back, and his arms dangling off the the front,  
"You said be your normal self and make yourself at home, so I did!" Kazuto joked,  
"Oh, you, sit up. I have biscuits,"  
"And cookies?" This peaked his interest,  
"Of course, cookies, your only weakness!"  
"Not my only weakness, You and sandwiches too!"  
"Your telling me you love sandwiches as much as me?" She pouted puffing out her cheeks,  
"Almost!"  
"Wha- come 'ere!" she jumped on him and rolled off the sofa, taking him with her,  
"Ahh! whoa! I was joking!"  
In retaliation he grabbed her under her legs and back and threw her onto the sofa, as he did so she snatched his collar and pulled him in, ending up only a few centimetres from one another's faces.  
"Call it a draw?" Kazuto whispered,  
"Have you surrendered?" she asked seductively, biting her lip,  
"I never surrender" he said as he closed his eyes, feeling the soft contact of Asuna's lips.  
The rest of the night they watched a movie, Kazuto eating most of the cookies and biscuits, while Asuna lay quietly on his lap. He ran his palm over his girlfriend's sweet shoulder and leaned on the arm rest, often stopping to reach for a cookie or biscuit, while rejoicing in the fact that he decided to put on the nerve gear that day, so he could meet his lightning flash Asuna.

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**Thanks for reading, please review!**  
**Sorry if the ending was bad, I was running low on ideas on what to do for an ending so I settled for this one, If you did enjoy let me know, PMs are always appreciated!**  
**Thanks again. for the support I've had!**  
**If you don't like the idea of camping I have another idea waiting so let me know! :-)**


	5. A Tent

**A/N:  
Thanks again! The reviews are just getting kinder and kinder!  
I do slip up since my sao backing isn't perfect so please try to overlook them, (the loudspeaker in chapter 3 should have said yukki not yukko, momoxtoshiro helped me so I know that for later.)  
These next few chapters are going to really focus on the cuteness of the couple even more, and Kirito making Asuna blush and pout. Hope you like!**

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Chapter 5

Two days. It was Thursday and in two days he was going to be camping in the mountains with his beloved and the two mischievous girls. Kazuto was looking through tents for which to suit himself and Asuna best, he hadn't had to argue much to get Asuna to sleep in the same tent as him, and he could probably imagine her looking at the floor , blushing, while admitting she did want to sleep in the same tent. He scanned across looking for a big and reliable tent, while not being too expensive, his wallet was emptying much quicker this past month, with all the dates and places he had taken Asuna but he didn't mind, Just more of a reason to work hard, he thought. He finally came across a tent that matched his criteria, it was a big red tent that was meant to handle strong weather, while being relatively cheap, at least compared to other ones, so he decided that would do. As he walked towards the counter he walked past Scilica seemingly doing the same thing he was a second ago, she caught his eye and gestured him to go up to her. He hesitated then walked towards the various shelves she was looking at.  
"Hey, Kazuto!"  
"Hey Scilica, what you looking for?"  
"A cheap single tent, my parents didn't give me much money... you?"  
"Just got a tent for me and-" Ah! shouldn't tell her that it'll just give her fuel for teasing, well I've gone and said it now, they're gonna know anyway once we're camping... never mind.  
"ohhhhh, you annnnd?"  
"*sigh* me and Asuna."  
"Ohhhhh, don't go doing anything naughty while I'm around!"  
Kazuto's face flushed bright red, "Ah! You shouldn't be thinking dirty thoughts, you're only young! Also we don't do those things if that's what you think we would be doing, oh and please don't tell Lisbeth we're in the same tent, it won't ever end!"  
"Fine, but help me pick a tent please!"  
They spent the next hour picking ok one, Scilica always wanting the stylised ones not the practical.  
Once she had picked and they had paid, Kazuto headed home to pack up and see Yui. He stepped inside alerting his Aunt and Sugu he was home, he ran upstairs threw his tent on the sofa and put on the nerve gear. Once in alfheim, he woke up from the bed at the inn and waited for Yui, but she didn't appear, he got up and walked outside wondering if she just forgot or was distracted by some programme. He then started to panic, was she in trouble? Did the cardinal delete her? He rushed to new Aincrad hoping she was just asleep at home in bed. Once he arrived him landed on the balcony rolling to stop he momentum. He stopped and looked up. Asuna was right in front of him and where he was looking, since being crouched, was not her face, but in fact her chest. He then revived a deserved boot too the face and an angry glare from Asuna.  
"What are you doing Kirito?!"  
"Ah! S-sorry, when I logged on Yui didn't appear so I panicked and landed at full speed, I didn't know you logged on!"  
"Pervert... anyway" she said straightening herself, " Yui's right here"  
"Papa!" Yui ran at him and jumped, almost toppling him over.  
"Sorry, mama logged on first!"  
"That's fine, I just worried a bit that's all. Has mama told you what we're doing this weekend?"  
"No... why? What's happening this weekend?"  
Asuna walked up and helped Kazuto up from his crouched position, "We're going camping Yui-chan," Asuna piped up, "so we can't log on until Sunday evening... is that ok?"  
"Of course! Mama and Papa are going to have the best time ever aren't they! Tell me about it when you get back, promise?"  
"Promise" Asuna and Kazuto said in unison.  
Once Yui was back in bed Kazuto led Asuna to the kitchen.  
"Hey, haven't seen you all day, happy I finally can."  
"Aww, I love you too Kirito-kun."  
"I also haven't had any sandwiches today soo-"  
"Oh you!"  
"Joking, joking. Hahahaha, I got us the tent."  
"Brilliant"  
"And I may have slipped up and accidentally told Scilica"  
"E-eh!? You what!? oh jeez..."  
"Sorry! I slipped up!"  
"It's ok... just get ready for two days of teasing"  
"And love from my favourite person in the world..." Kazuto leaned forward as Asuna closed her eyes, their lips met and the world around them went black as they focused on the soft contact between them. The kiss lasted much longer then usual, because there was no real need to breath, but soon the natural urge to breath in caused them to part.  
Kazuto opened his eyes to his white ceiling. He got up and pit the nerve gear on his desk as he walked to the tent he bought, he opened it up and rolled in into a cylinder, he stuffed that in his bag and put his schoolbag next to it knowing they would probably travel and setup Friday evening and start Saturday morning. He stuffed in his back coat, scarf and gloves and some swimming trunks in case of a fresh river. He put his phone on charge and turned it off to conserve power on Friday.

The constant beeping reminded Kazuto of his camping trip and urged him out of bed, he threw he uniform on the bed and packed up his black jacket, grey t-shirt and navy blue trousers in his school bag. He rushed his morning routine as always to be able to spend as much time as possible with Yui before going out.  
Asuna got up out of bed much more abruptly as the familiar shouting of her mother ripped her out of slumber and back into reality, she too rushed out of bed packed up extra sandwiches and rushed out the door to meet Kazuto by the bench.  
"Papa! How long have you got before school?"  
"5 minutes or so, do you want to play a game before I go?"  
Yui's eye's sparkled with excitement as playing with her dad was a rare opportunity,  
"Can we play tag?"  
"Sure, You're it!" Kazuto ran off once he lightly tapped Yui's arm.  
They ran around the house nocking over chairs and kitchen appliances as they ran, eventually Yui backed Kazuto into a corner and tagged him.  
"Ha! Got you Papa!"  
"Well done... Yui..." he said panting, "Oh! Sorry Yui I've gotta go, Love you!"  
"Oh... Love you Papa! Tell Mama to log on soon!"  
"Will do!" and with that he logged out.  
He  
He rushed out the door in excitement of being almost alone with Asuna all weekend.  
"Hey, Asuna!" Kazuto ran up to the familiar bench and stopped underneath the cherry blossom tree.  
"Oh! Kirito! Distracted by Yui again?"  
"Ah, Sorry about that. Yui asked to see you soon... are your parents still not letting you log on?"  
"No they're not, but I keep sneaking on every so often, I'll see her soon I promise, tell her that for me?"  
"Of course! Excited for today?"  
"Yes! The black swordsman and the lightning flash camping! It's going to be great!"

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** A/N: Hope you liked it, this is supposedly going to help me write out really intimate moments between the two (not lemons haha) and have a way out of it if I need one (Lisbeth and Scilica), If you don't like this idea please bear with me, It won't last too long, but at least try to enjoy the fluff!  
KiritoxAsuna Forever!**


	6. First day camping

**A/N: Pay no attention to last chapter's authors notes, I got confused and read Momoxtoshiro's review saying the loudspeaker should have said yukko instead of yukki... Terribly sorry about that everyone.**  
** Anyway hope you enjoy this and as always please review! It helps a lot and is always nice to see feedback once I've uploaded a chapter. I always ramble on too much... Onwards with the story!**

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Chapter 6

Kazuto walked out of class and headed for the cafeteria. Himself, Asuna, Scilica and Lisbeth were meeting to talk about the camping trip that had been exciting him for the last week, he rushed passed the other students that were pushing to get out of school quickly to start their weekends. As he pushed open the doors he got a surprise hug from Asuna.

"H-hey!" after hugging her back and swinging her about a little he lowered his voice, "Don't you hate public displays of affection?" he asked curiously, wondering if she forgot about Lisbeth and Scilica.

"Y-yeah, but I'm just so happy we're finally going on some sort of holiday together... So it's worth the embarrassment!" She said with a enthusiastic smile on her face,  
"Dawww, already being romantic you too?" Scilica said from the table she was at,  
"You guys do know we're gonna be here this weekend too, we'll be watching!" Lisbeth tried to be creepy but ended up bursting with laughter.

"Y-Yeah! we know!" The two both cried in unison,  
Asuna detached from their embrace sharply, leaving Kazuto wondering if he'd done something wrong or if it was just Lisbeth and Scilica teasing past her limit.

"Ok... We'll travel up this path here to the cable cars were we can catch a ride up the side of the mountain. We'll then get off at the fourth stop and travel down and round the side to this camping site. Unless we find a really nice place to camp other than the site, that's where we'll be staying."

Kazuto logged this as a challenge, to find the most beautiful camping spot for Asuna and partly to try to avoid the public camping site.

"Hey, Asuna," Kazuto whispered,  
"Huh, what's up Kirito-kun?"  
"Are your parents defiantly ok with this?"  
"Yes, It was a bit of a struggle but I convinced them it was more about the experience than being with you... of course that may have been a slight lie..."  
"Ah... I love you for things like that..." Kazuto only just realised that he had raised his voice and turned to Lisbeth and Scilica who were giggling between their fingers,  
"No no, don't mind us, carry on!" they both cried.

Kazuto shook his head and grabbed his bag, "Are we ready to go then? Everyone packed?" After a swift confirmation from everyone and then a quick check that everyone had enough food, they set off.  
"Ah, guys, just gonna go to the toilet and change, be back in a second!"

The path was steep. The three struggled to climb up since their body's were not yet back up to full strength, they climbed and climbed, staggering on the way up.

"Lisbeth! You didn't say it was this steep!" Kazuto shouted ahead of him,  
"S-Sorry! We're nearly there, just a little further!"  
Asuna was at the back struggling the most, her body was the last out of rehab and she could feel the strain it was on her heart.

"K-kirito... help me up please?" Kazuto could see it pained her to ask for help, and if she was really asking for help, she was pretty much at her limit, he picked her up in a bridal position and continued upward. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he longed to reach back and get a drink, but he was holding onto Asuna and so didn't have any free hands.  
"Uh.. Asuna... this is awkward but can you get the water strapped to my back and... feed it me?"  
Asuna's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, but she did so because of how much he needed it.  
Lisbeth and Scilica won't stop giggling at the scene but they both just shook it off, If Kazuto would've known the trip would be like this, he would not of come, for Asuna's sake.

They jumped on the cable car and sat in a huff. "Oh good lord..." Lisbeth puffed,  
"thank goodness that is over." Kazuto said as he put Asuna down on the chair. He sat slouched, gulping down his water with one hand and patting his head, with a flannel, with the other.  
"I wish I could've been carried up" Scilica mumbled under her breath. Lisbeth nudged her and told her that Asuna wasn't as fit as the rest of them yet and still needed to recover properly.

"Ha... right, so now, once we get to our stop, it's downhill?" Kazuto panted  
"Yup, not far from the camp site!" Lisbeth replied, enthusiastically  
"We don't have to go to the camp site" Kazuto replied quietly, remembering the challenge he set himself,  
"Yeah, if we find another place we can stay we will, its a bit crowded up there anyway." Scilica said.

Asuna lay down with her head on Kazuto's lap, listening to the conversation. She sat up and looked at Kazuto, who was still exhausted. "Kirito-kun, do you want to lay on my lap?"  
"E-eh?! But.. It's in front of Lisbeth and Scilica, you hate that!" he whispered,  
"But you're exhausted, if it helps you it's worth the embarrassment, besides you carried me all the way up here and I need to do something to repay you, this is a start."  
"You don't have to repay me Asuna, I would do that all day if it made you happy..."  
"Come on, it's only up to our stop."

Kazuto gave in and laid his head on her lap, her chestnut hair forming a curtain in front of his eyes.  
"Wow... You guys are all about public display today aren't you!" Lisbeth teased,  
"Lisbeth... we're exhausted, can you wait until we get there before you start teasing?" Asuna pleaded.  
"Fine, but we can tease all weekend as soon as we're there, deal?"  
"Deal."

The rest of the journey was easy, they walked down the mountain taking in the sights around them, small areas of the mountain were eroded away leaving space for vegetation and forests to grow, as well as space for small lakes and rivers."Hey, Guys!" Everyone stopped to look at Kazuto, "There, a small clearing in the forest wanna check it out?"  
"Sure!" Everyone said in unison.

They approached to find an empty space below the clearing perfect for camping, looking onward there was a fresh river running off a small cliff forming a sort of shower before leading off down the mountain. "This. Is. Perfect!" Asuna and Kazuto exclaimed in unison turning to Lisbeth and Scilica with puppy eyes, pleading to stay here.  
"There's no need to plead, of course we're staying here!" Lisbeth and Scilica cheered.  
They set up their tents and unpacked inside, Kazuto unpacked a cheap sleeping bag and rolled it out, he looked at it and wished he'd bought a better quality one, it wasn't very comfy at all and the style was plain green. Then Asuna unpacked hers, it looked like the best sleeping bag money could buy, she unrolled it and Kazuto prodded it comparing it to his, of course Asuna's was much more comfortable and stylish and Asuna was embarrassed by her parents for buying something that showed off their fortune, she had asked for something plain and simple bit this is what she had, although she couldn't complain. It was comfy.

"Sorry Kirito-kun, I hate showing off, I did ask for a plain and-"  
"Stop fretting, you have a fortune, use it! It's very comfy and stylish, I like it, You should too! Stop worrying about showing off, it's only me."

Kazuto's speech eased Asuna's embarrassment and she decided that was worth a kiss, she planted her lips on his cheek as a thank you and continued to unpack, Kazuto put his hand up to the warm spot on his cheek and smirked, _Hah if dissipating her worries earns me kisses, I'll try to do it even more!_, he thought.

Once everyone had unpacked they walked to the centre of their camp, "First things first, we need firewood," Lisbeth stated, "Who's going to go get some?" Kazuto instantly volunteered as the man inside him dreaded any ladies doing such labour even though he knew they were entirely capable. "Ok, we also need a designated toilet, Scilica, would you look for somewhere and we'll put some kind of shelter to mark the fact it's a toilet."  
"Sure thing!"  
"I think that's it for now, me and Asuna will make some kind of fireplace for the firewood."

Everyone set off on their job, after a small period of silence, Lisbeth piped up, "So, Asuna, you two getting along well?"  
"Yes thank you Lisbeth" Asuna desperetly trying to avoid the teasing headed her way,  
"You two done anything... naughty yet?" Lisbeth winked suggestively  
"It's the same answer as always." Asuna said as she kept the annoyed part of her down and tried to stay calm,  
"You're surprisingly calm. Haha, sorry, I'm only teasing. Why do you still call him Kirito-kun anyway?" Lisbeth said curiously,  
"Huh? Oh, I don't know really... I know it's rude I just, can't bring myself to call him different from the name than what I've always called him since I met him..."  
They gathered up stones and formed a ring, they flattened the grass and put smaller stones over that, to stop it catching fire, Pleased with their mini fireplace they waited for the other two to get back.

Kazuto search thought the forest for weak looking, or broken branches, suitable for firewood. He passed the river running off the cliff face and decided to inspect it closer. The setting sun reflected off the clear fresh water as it ran off the mini cliff face and off down the mountains. He imagined about Asuna showering under there and almost instantly dismissed the thought, as even though Asuna wouldn't know he was imagining such things, it was disrespectful and perverted.  
He carried on looking for firewood, eventually finding enough to last the night, then he made his way back towards camp for sunset.

Scilica meanwhile was struggling, it was weird looking for somewhere to mark as a toilet but she guessed the reason for it was mostly for privacy. She followed the river down the clearing from the mini waterfall looking for anywhere she could find that could be somehow isolated. She finally came across a small cave the river spilt off into, it was large enough to stand in but could easily just have some sort of door in the way and it'd be perfect.  
She marked it in her mind and hurried back to camp, dreading being out there in the night.

Kazuto arrived back just before sunset, he had come up with a plan which was to quickly get Asuna to the end of the mini waterfall, sit next to it and watch the sun set. _From such a high altitude surly it will last longer and be even more beautiful?_, he thought as he arrived at camp.

"Asuna! Quick come with me, you'll understand when we get there!" Kazuto shouted out to Asuna, shocking her and making shriek.  
"Ahh! Kirito! You scared me, whats going on?" She questioned,  
"You'll see when we get there, now come quick!" He grabbed her delicate hand and tugged her slightly as a notion to hurry.

They broke into a small jog as Kazuto led Asuna through the woods heading toward that beautiful Cliff face he'd passed hoping to see as much of the sunset as possible with his beautiful girlfriend. When they arrived there Kazuto boosted Asuna up since it was too high to climb and Asuna struggled for a second when pulling Kazuto up, but once they were up they sat in the glorious orange sunlight and rested against on another, feeling the warm contact of their bodies.

"Kirito-kun... I'm sorry about today... I pushed my limit back there and just wouldn't have been able to get up without your help... so sorry and thanks too." Asuna breathed as she rested on his shoulder feeling his palm drawing circles on her back, soothing her.  
"Hey, there's no need to apologise, we're equals, remember? We'll always help each other, no matter the problem." Kazuto replied affectionately.  
"R-right!" As she exhaled she whispered softly into Kazuto's ear, "always together, now and forevermore..." she held his hand and pressed it to her necklace making him push the button, and displaying the message he designed for her.

They entertained their hands as they slowly leaned in to kiss, the setting sun disappearing over the horizon.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was a lot longer than my other ones because mores and more scenarios popped into my mind as I wrote. Thanks again for your reviews and support and remember if you have criticism it will always be considered constructive and taken into account, Thanks for staying by and continuing to read!**


	7. Showering

**A/N: Hi guys! Another chapter coming your way!**  
** I recently read a fanfic spelling Scilica , silica. Am I spelling it wrong? Please let me know in a review or pm! For now I'll continue to spell it Scilica but please let me know if it's incorrect! Also I've had some Pms and reviews about the structure of my chapters, I hope I fixed this in the last chapter and also this chapter, but I can change it further if it's still wrong!**

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Chapter 7

Kazuto stretched as he opened his eyes to the red glow of the tent, he looked across at the sleeping bag containing his amazing girlfriend with affection in his eyes.

"Morning sleepy head!" Asuna giggled,  
"Morning waking beauty" Kazuto replied, playfully.

"Did you like seeing the sunset from this altitude? I hope it was better than seeing it on your roof..." Kazuto asked feeling guilty he hadn't brought her there quick enough to see the full duration of the sun setting.

"Of course I did dummy! I watched it with you!" The words warmed his heart as he unzipped his sleeping bag.

Kazuto pushed the curtains of the tent aside to reveal the sparkling daylight before him. He yawned and walked over to Lisbeth's tent.  
"Hey, you awake in there?" He asked cautiously, after a few groans and mumbles a frizzy haired Lisbeth appeared in front of him,

"Huh? W-what time is it?" Lisbeth moaned,  
"9am, you might want to look at your hair..." Kazuto contained his laughter as Lisbeth's bedhead failed to make her look serious,  
"Ah! My hair, My hair!" She shrieked rushing back in her tent to find her brush.

Kazuto chuckled to himself, and wondered off the Scilica's tent hoping for a similar drama,

"Scilica? You awake?" Kazuto said trying to repeat such a fun filled moment,  
"Ah! Kazuto! You're finally awake!" A voice said from inside,

As she walked out of her tent Scilica was all ready, hair brushed, properly clothed, completely the opposite of what Kazuto was expecting.

"E-eh? How long have you been up?"  
"Oh only since 7..."  
"7! Ugh... could never bring myself to wake up at that time."  
"You and Asuna are so cute sleeping together like that!" Scilica toyed,  
"What?! You spied on us?" Kazuto exclaimed, blush filling his cheeks,  
"I took a quick peek..." Scilica said trying to keep a straight face at the distraught Kazuto before her.

Kazuto hurried back to his tent, regretting ever trying to tease her.

Asuna had got up and headed toward the mini waterfall, hoping for a natural shower, she changed into her swimwear and put her clothes down on her towel, she moved toward the streaming waterfall and plunged into it's fresh water. She shuddered in the cold but also sighed as the cool water ran down her body, soothing her, almost as well as one of Kazuto's embraces.

Meanwhile Kazuto had the same idea, he got into his trunks and slung a towel over his shoulder, he started brushing his teeth as he walked over to the place he had loved so much last night, as he arrived he laid down his towel and clothes then walked over to the river, he spat out his toothpaste and put his toothbrush on top of his clothes and towel.  
He turned the corner to the mini waterfall, only to find Asuna in her swimwear, eyes closed in complete bliss.

"Enjoying your shower?" He teased, Asuna shrieked and splashed the cold water at him in an attempt to blind him while she covered herself up.

"Ah! Kirito-kun! What are you doing? And close your eyes pervert!" Asuna shrieked,  
"Alright I am... and I came for a shower, you obviously beat me to it."  
"Oh, didn't you see my towel?" Asuna said, believing he was just trying to see her in swimwear.  
"No, I must've come round the other side of it."

"Oh O-okay... do.. do you want to share the shower with me?" Asuna asked her cheeks flushing red, but also longing for his warmth to be with her in this refreshing shower.  
"Are you okay with that?" He said slowly moving his hands from his eyes,  
"Yeah, come on in." Asuna said being quite seductive and moved her arms and hands from her body revealing her sleek figure.

Kazuto walked into the waterfall and was instantly chilled, but he pressed his body to Asuna's, sharing one another's warmth they ran their fingers through each others hair, the cool water running down their faces and dripping on their feet, they stayed that way for what seemed like forever, embracing the moment and the intimacy before breaking apart.  
They began to spread water over one another's bodies, washing and soothing each other, until this loving moment was turned into a full on splash fight by Kazuto.

"Hey! Oh, it's on now!" Kazuto flicked his wrist and the water he had been pooling crashed into Asuna's petit face. She gasped and threw a hand full of water into his eyes then pooling more into her palms as he recovered. He ducked under her next splash and poked her side, catching her in a grasp and the chucking water on her neck.

"Okay! Okay! You win Kirito-kun!" Asuna blurted out,  
"Is the great lighting flash surrendering? I don't believe it for a second. Say the exact words!" He poked her rib again, causing her to hunch over and protect them with her hands, only finding Kazuto's already there, "Surrender or the real tickling shall commence!" Kazuto was enjoying this too much, he sighed and let go, I've had enough fun, he thought to himself. After a few seconds of standing there Asuna began to shiver.

"We should go, we'll catch a cold." Kazuto warned,  
"S-sure... I liked that Kirito-kun... we.. could do that more often."  
"What share a shower?" Kazuto joked expecting a blushing Asuna to retaliate, but instead...

"Y-yeah..." She replied much to Kazuto's surprise, of course he wasn't t complaining.  
"That... That'd be great Asuna."A surprised Kazuto whispered.  
They quickly dried themselves with their towels and and got dressed, Kazuto picking up his toothbrush after being reminded by Asuna.

They walked back to the camp hands entwined, taking in the sights around them, Kazuto mostly looking at the one next to him.

Lisbeth sat in her tent rocking back and forth holding her knees to her chest, _Oh no, no, no, My hair! He saw my bedhead, no one's ever seen my bedhead!_, She thought to herself.

"Hey! Lisbeth, It's me Scilica, wanna go light rest of the fire wood?" Scilica said, peeking her head in the tent,  
"H-hey!? Whats up?" She asked, cautiously as she saw Lisbeth's horrified expression,  
"My hair... he saw my hair!" Lisbeth screeched as she blankly stared into empty space,

"You mean your bedhead? Ha! Come on, why would you care?" Scilica reasoned, "He's not your boyfriend, no matter how much we wish for it!"  
This seemed knocked some sense into Lisbeth since she slowly got up and turned around.

"Y-yeah.. B-but I still need to look my best..." Lisbeth replied shakily,  
"You're overreacting, come on lets go light the fire!"

They walked over to the fireplace and placed what was left of the firewood in the middle, Lisbeth went and grabbed her box of matches from her tent and lit one,

"Hey! Thats cheating!" Scilica pointed to the matches,  
"Oh come on, lighting them with a stick could take hours!" Lisbeth persuaded, but to no avail,  
"Ah! But we have time to kill don't we! If it takes more than an hour we can light it with a match."  
"Fine" Lisbeth groaned.

Scilica grabbed a stick and shoved it into the firewood, with her palms she began to roll it back and forth almost like making playdogh sausages, the wood began to get warmer as the friction kept building heat. "Hey! Lisbeth look! I'm doing it! Just like I saw in that survival film!"

"Great! Keep going so I can get warmer!" Lisbeth encouraged,

She kept it rolling in her hands for almost half and hour, "Lisbeth... My hands are killing me! Can you take a go?"

"No, you're the one that didn't want to use a match, if you want to stop you can!" Lisbeth said rather cold heartedly.

Suddenly flickers started to appear then a few small sparks, then finally some embers, they both blew into the embers and before long, flames had conjured.

"Ha! I did it!" Scilica looked at Lisbeth with an "I told you so" face.

"Whatever... Hey where's the two lovers?"

Kazuto pulled Asuna round the back of the tent, he had seen Scilica and Lisbeth lighting the fire and would prefer not getting teased again for showering with Asuna, she of course thought the same. "Hey, Asuna, wouldn't it be great if they stopped teasing for a while and then we showed off in their faces before they were allowed to tease again?"

"Kirito... What sinister plan have you got in mind?" Asuna replied, very worried,

"Oh nothing, just thinking about their faces at the inability to tease while we were smooching right in front of them!" Just the thought made him laugh a little. He waited around the side of the tent until they weren't looking and slipped in, pulling Asuna with him.

The rest of the day they spent as a group, laughing together as they sat around the camp, telling stories and jokes.

"Hey, once, when I was with my guild, the black cats of the full moon, we were levelling in a forest full of giant bugs, I found a small butterfly that landed on my nose, Sacchi and everyone laughed as apparently it would bite my face off, then it did, it started to eat my nose! The thing was as dangerous as some of the giant bugs around, it taught them to laugh at me! That was just two weeks before... Never mind." He fell silent as he remembered the trap room, and the betrayal his ally's, no, friends must have felt.

Asuna patted his back once she saw his expression, "Kirito-kun... I love you... I can't do anything about the black cats and I'm sorry for that, but lighten up, It's Lisbeth's turn." She whispered in his ear, Kazuto tried to keep his expression smiling for the rest of the day but he had reminded himself of the past and however much he tried it wouldn't leave his mind,

"I'm gonna go get some firewood, the fire is dimming and it's getting dark," he stood up and moved into the forest, heading towards the river. "Hey! Kirito-kun! I'm coming!"

_Oh great_, he thought, _I get to make Asuna upset because of how I'm feeling._

He sat on the edge of the river waiting for Asuna, looking at his reflection, thinking, did he really deserve all this? Wonderful friends, an amazing girlfriend, and the action of surviving the death game, did he deserve to be alive when, his black cats, where gone? Asuna ran up to him and sat behind him wrapping her arms around his chest.

"Kirito... I'm not going to lecture you about how great of a person you are, I'm just going to say they're proud of you, all of us and all of them, I'm guessing Sacchi is probably looking down on you with a smile on her face. We should start gathering firewood up, while we are doing so, think about it."

With that she got up and left, she knew saying how great he was wouldn't help him, he needed to hear that they're not disappointed in him, to hear that they're happy.

He tossed the firewood on the flame feeling slightly better as the flames flew up in his face, he put some of the firewood aside for tomorrow. "Heh... It's night already?" Lisbeth yawned,

"Yup, I'm gonna hit the hay soon, but I want some time to myself so I'll stay up a bit longer than the rest of you, if you don't mind..." Kazuto asked calmly,

"No problem!" Lisbeth and Scilica exclaimed,

"Hey, Scilica, don't you still have a bedtime to abide by?" Kazuto asked curiously,

"What! Oi! I'm old enough to go camping with you guys! I'm old enough to decide when I go to bed!" Scilica glared at Kazuto for pointing out her youth compared to the others.

"Alright alright."

"I'm going to bed now only because I want to!"

"Haha, see you tomorrow." Kazuto said as Scilica climbed into her tent mumbling something about her bed time and being older.

"Well, I guess I'll hit the hay then, night!" Lisbeth yawned as she climbed into her blue tent.

"I guess that just leaves me... Kirito-kun, what are you doing alone out here anyway?" Asuna asked concerned,

"I'm just gonna think about stuff for a little bit, you'll be awake when I go to bed, I won't be long..."

"Okay... I'll be waiting." Asuna climbed into her tent and changed into her nightgown, wondering what was going through Kazuto's mind.

Kazuto sat down and looked up into the stars, "Sacchi, I don't know if you can hear me... I don't know if some form of you even exists... But if you are looking down on me, you're smiling, right?... I'm sorry about what I did I truly am... But I'm going to try and bury my thoughts under my new happy ones for my friends and Asuna... I hope you understand." He walked into his tent and after a quick change outside, he slipped into his sleeping bag, looking at Asuna before slowly drifting into a deep sleep.

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**A/N: Thanks for the support, reviews and PMS! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully I didn't stray too far from the main fluff but I thought our other characters needed some more love (as well as the black cats which I hadn't given a mention yet). Next week will be the last of the camping trip, hope you've enjoyed it! Now I just have to think of and idea for after the camp trip! Suggestions welcome!**


	8. Tears

**A/N: Thanks for the support again! Please review as it's an awesome incentive! (Getting feedback also helps improve my writing) As you have of course! I got an Idea from sonic2978 and I've tried to evolve it, hope you like! Also the beginning of this chapter is slightly more... mature... maybe falling into k+-Teen... You guys probably won't mind just throwing it out there, nothing too bad (just very detailed deep kisses) sorry but I threw it in there anyways as you can't change ratings for each chapter.**

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Chapter 8

For the second time, his eyes opened to the red glow of the tent and his gorgeous girlfriend laying on top of him, wait she's laying on top of me?! Kazuto retraced his memory and only remembered slipping in to bed after everyone else, no memories of doing so with Asuna, Ah... she must've woken up in the night and climbed in my sleeping bag. He wrapped his arm around Asuna's sleeping figure, hand at her stomach, he rested his head on his other hand. How can this get any better? He thought to himself as he drew circles on Asuna's stomach.

Shortly after Asuna began to stir, "Morning, Black swordsman-sama" She poked his nose and giggled.  
"Good morning Asuna, when did you get in this sleeping bag?" Kazuto asked curiously. Shocked, Asuna realised where she was and quickly ducked her head down to hide her blush,

"I.. uh.. I must've felt lonely In the night so-" she was cut short by the contact his lips made against her neck she whimpered slightly then she practically jumped on him pinning him down, legs straddled across him,  
"Wow... Asuna, I was expecting a flush of red then a punch in the face."  
"Shhh, if you don't shut up then that's what'll happen!"

She leaned down and pressed her lips against his vigorously he returned the kiss passionately and then proceeded to deepen it.  
He was unsure what had come over Asuna all of a sudden, normally she would be too shy to even sit on him in such a way now she was kissing deeper than she ever had before, exploring his mouth as he did the same. He ended up believing this was just a fantasy and he would wake up soon, regrettably.

As they parted Kazuto began to say something witty before he noticed two females standing at the entrance to the tent.

"Why are you always there?!" Kazuto muttered to himself as he tried to keep the red from flushing into his face and almost succeeded but despite his best efforts, the blush consumed his cheeks.  
"Ah! That was an exquisite performance! Bravo! A true scene of romance!" Lisbeth attempted her best, posh 1950's British accent and burst out laughing from the reaction the young couple gave. Scilica meanwhile simply chuckled before walking off.

Asuna climbed out the sleeping bag ran to the tent entrance and pushed her out. She held the curtains closed and exhaled heavily.  
"I was trying to give you a nice morning welcome... but those two always ruin intimate moments don't they?" Asuna's cheeks were flushed red, her heart felt like it was gonna burst out of her chest and her breathing was incredibly fast, partly because of such a rush from the kiss and partly from the embarrassment she had just undergone.

Meanwhile Kazuto's eyes drifted down Asuna's body. He noticed now she was up that she was not wearing anything but her undergarments, he diverted his eyes as he opened his mouth to speak. "Ummm Asuna... don't kill me..."  
"Why?"  
"Look at what your wearing, or rather, not wearing."

He prepared for the wrath of his girlfriend to be brought down upon him, but instead got a quick reply.  
"I hate today."

"Were you a bit... excited last night?" Kazuto asked as he and Asuna began to pack their bags.  
"I don't know... I guess I was a little... No, I'm not normally like that! And don't get any ideas! It was impulsive..."

"Well, I'm gonna get a boot in my face but I enjoyed it." Kazuto blurted out, he then accepted his fate, the crashing thud of a boot never came though.

"Well aren't you going to retaliate?" he asked wondering what happened to her today and why he wasn't already knocked out,

"No... I... I enjoyed it too... I guess I was trying to, well, be more loving." Kazuto twitched and looked towards Asuna, how was deep in thought.

"Hey, nobody is more loving than you, you know that." he grabbed her wrists gently and then pulled her into his chest,

"But, I haven't really been the kind of girlfriend that... um... openly loves or does things with her boyfriend that would be thought of, well, sexy, and I know you don't mind but you have to have some form of want for that sort of thing." Asuna looked at the ground hugging Kazuto's chest as he traced his fingers through her hair.

"It's true. Of course I like your kinky side, but that doesn't matter, my primal urge doesn't mean you have to change for me. I'll always love you, no matter what, whether your sexy or cute or whatever, I'm always here." He ruffled her hair, then lifted her chin to meet his mysterious, onyx eyes and kissed her lips briefly before getting back to packing.

He hated forests, not because of the bugs or the smells but because of his memories. Sure, he loved staying with Asuna in such a beautiful place but the trees reminded him of that winters day in which he fought the Saint Nicholas inspired boss, which was rumoured to have dropped a revival item. He had been so happy to see it existed and opened it quickly to see the description, to know how to revive Sachi. Of course, he thought as he scrolled down the rare drop, why did I ever expect it to be able to revive her? He slammed his forehead into his sprawled hands and cried. He cried and cried and cried. His only hope, his last chance, the one way to save his best friend, was false.

That day had become a horror, a lost hope, a nightmare. He said nothing to Asuna, his beloved. He didn't want to destroy the beauty the forest held for her, but sometimes, especially if it had snowed, it would be too much. "Come on Kirito-kun! We're ready!" The three cried in unison.

He took one last look at the forest's tall pine trees, and the way the leaves rustled in the wind... and left.

The trip down the mountain had took a turn for the worst, the clouds had saved all their rain and the wind held all it's might for the cable car. It swung back and forth in the wind, terrifying Asuna, and making Lisbeth and Silica cling to each other for their lives. Kazuto, while scared, held Asuna tightly in his arms, she shivered at the swing as the wind came in one tremendous burst, she felt his warm breath and comforting arms as she tried to lose herself, failing from the pit pat of the rain and the swinging motion of the car.

Kazuto looked across at the other too who were, while not as bad as Asuna, terrified, he gestured for them to come and sit with him and they ran, no questions asked. He grabbed Silica and plonked her on his lap, Lisbeth sat next to him. They hugged the whole journey down, Kazuto almost being crushed from the tightness of the three girls grasps.

"Girls! We're here... You. Can. Let. Go!" He was struggling to breath as the air was not making it past the top of his windpipe

They paid no attention, and Kazuto walked out of the cable car waddling like a penguin, Lisbeth had him round his neck, Asuna restraining both arms with a wrap around hug from the side and Silica practically glued to his chest. He was catching a lot of looks from the other passengers on the other cart, who had just experienced the same thing, boy's rather enviously while girls were among jealous glares at the girls. He sat in a huff on a nearby bewnch and prised off Silica and Lisbeth.

"Ok... Phew. Right, that's over you two can let go. I know it was horrible but you three have a death grip!" Kazuto wiped his forehead and kissed Asuna's cheek sweetly before looking back to the cheeky two.

"Hey! Asuna hasn't let go! That's no fair!" Lisbeth exclaimed,

"That's because she's my girlfriend, but three at once really renders my ability to breath, useless." Kazuto defended.

After a long break they continued off down the mountain, a much quicker pace than the way up, Kazuto was walking at the back alone, head deep in thought. He couldn't let the others see him mourning over something that happened years ago, he didn't want it to affect them, however a part of him longed for the comfort of Asuna, helping him get over his darkened view of forests. He couldn't do it' the tear between his personal happiness would end up beneficial to Asuna, as a happy Kazuto was a happy Asuna, and vice versa. But the sadness it would cause Asuna might not be worth his quicker recovery, he loved their picnics in the woods near the town and didn't want to lose Asuna's love of the scenery in them. One of the things she loved most were pine trees, he just couldn't ruin that.

He walked slowly thinking, what would have gone differently if I had revealed my level? Would they have accepted me into the guild? Would they have made me go first into suspicious rooms, would Sachi have liked me? The last thought almost killed him, he stopped, clutched his heart and allowed a single, silent tear to fall with a soft plop as it hit the ground, he wiped his eye with his thumb and carried on walking. The one place for Sachi to reside was his heart, he didn't love her lime he did Asuna, she had access to all his love, but the one small corner of his heart belonged entirely to Sachi. As long as that love and friendship lasted within his heart, he could never stop longing, and missing Sachi. Ever.

He searched his nerve gear's files, Yui, Yui, Yui, Yui,...Sachi. The one photo he took in game of his entire guild and Sachi, sometimes he sat there for hours rubbing his screen, his eyes looked onto Sachi each time his eyes passed her and he just sat, expressionless.

He met Asuna and half listened to her converse. "I loved it! It was - - and Silica said - - the journey back - - scary" He hated doing this but he couldn't keep the black cats of the full moon out of his mind, was he a bad person? Did Asuna deserve him? No she deserved better, but his love and regret for his actions was all he could give her.

The teacher lectured. Nothing made it into Kazuto's brain. He wasn't listening he was distant and Asuna was starting to notice.

She gently rubbed his back and secretly slipped a note into his pocket, he turned and their gazes locked. But instead of looking into her soul lovingly, he looked straight through her and into space, she had never seen Kazuto so upset and distant in her entire relationship with him.

They were walking along the path slilently until Kazuto decided on the answer to the same question he had been asking since after the cable car ride yesterday.

"Asuna... After you have got ready at home, could you come round for a few hours? There's something important I have to tell you. It's to do with Sachi."

It didn't sting Asuna to hear her name as he would always have a place for her in his heart, but she couldn't help herself feel a small degree of jealousy, a tiny part that never surfaced as the most predominant emotion, was guilt. She was guilty she wasn't by him when his loses such a close friend, she was guilty she hadn't been in the trap room that decimated his guild, but most of all she was guilty she felt jealousy over such a caring boyfriend who loved her more than anything.

"Defiantly, I'm always here for you, Kirito-kun, no matter what!

They split paths at her house, a small peck on the forehead signalled his goodbye, as he walked off toward his home, in which he would have a ton of holding back tears to do.

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**A/N: Ha! Hope you guys enjoyed! I know there's a serious tone these past two chapters and it'll lighten up soon, but I wanted to show just the amount of time they invested In each other, no matter the problem, can't wait to finish this arc with next chapter!**


	9. The photo

**A/N: Heeeeeello! Thanks for the awesome reviews and support you guys give! It makes writing these chapters so much more awesome! Please continue as you have! Anyway, time to resolve this arc, for worse or for better! Sorry it took longer to get this out, I'm not at home until Tuesday (August 27th) and it might take a bit longer to write them, sorry!**

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Chapter 9

Kazuto turned the key and unlocked his door, he stepped inside and slid his shoes onto his rack. He passed by the kitchen and the living room without even checking for his Aunt or Cousin, as he normally did. He stomped up the stairs which lead to his room and slammed the door behind him. He walked up to his computer, woke up his computer's monitor display and sat in his chair.

"I'm sorry Sachi, So so sorry."

His mouse hovered over the delete button of his only photo of the guild, he simply couldn't bring his finger to click the left mouse button, he willed and willed his finger to move ever so slightly downwards, but his heavy heart influenced his action and he simply could not. Kazuto stared at the screen, at Sachi and his fellow guild members, he remembered the training and hardships they fought all the way up to... that... His tearful eyes desperately needed to blink but he was frozen. Frozen. A statue. The tears rolled down his cheeks and splashed onto the keyboard and seeped in between the keys.

Asuna walked towards the Kirigaya residence, looking much more comfortable in her familiar spring dress. It waved in the wind, her hair was let down, with her usual braids hanging down, instead of being tied at the back. She walked up to the door and clenched a fist, ready to knock, however she saw a note,

"Come in, It's unlocked and I'm in my room." No love Kazuto or from your beloved. Something was seriously wrong with him, she could tell just from this letter. He always put love Kazuto or from your beloved at the bottom, no matter what. Not to mention today he was very distant. Asuna started to panic, she rushed through the door and up the stairs, a sharp turn right and a opened door later she saw the depressed Kazuto and the monitor.

"K-Kaz... Kazuto!" She ran towards him and hugged him from behind, he didn't react, he was just expressionless, staring at the memory he needed to forget, or at least, bury.

"A-A-Asuna. I can't. I can't. Please. Force me to forget, make me forget!" He screamed at the monitor his very body shaking. Asuna noticed his mouse shaking over the delete icon, she understood everything, he had been reminded of his former guild while camping but kept it quiet until he had got home, obviously this affected him today too as he was so distant at school, he was, partly for his sake, partly for everyone else's trying to completely forget, trying to delete his only reminiscence of his guild, of Sachi.

She was devastated to see Kazuto in this state.

"Kirito-kun!" She spun his chair to meet her tearful eyes and gripped his shoulder, instead of seeing his affectionate onyx eyes, she just saw two irises and an expressionless mouth.

"Kirito, I can't bear to see you like this! Sachi loves you, she always will, and I know she'll always have a place in your heart as do I, but you have to stop! You have to overcome your past, you- you're such a lovely person, kind, compassionate but strong and fearless, you don't have to delete the photo! Just remember you're not responsible! Please! I love you! I love you Kirito-kun! Please stop, for me." She was now crying, the tears fell from her eyelid and straight onto Kazuto's lap, she pulled his head into her chest and ran her fingers through his hair.

"I have to. Asuna, I-I.. I have to delete it, otherwise I can't let go... If I bury it how long will it be before it resurfaces? I buried it all this time and it just resurfaces, I have to face my past."

His hand was now at her wrist, his other caressing her face, his irises had widened and his onyx gaze was filled with emotion, Sadness, determination and longing. Three expressions that weren't normally together at one time.

His hand trembled over the mouse as he continued to hover the icon to delete the image, not just from his computer but from his memory too. He still was unable to force his finger down onto the mouse button until he felt the warm sensation that was his girlfriend, their lips had clashed and her hand was on top of his right hand. On the mouse. She continued to deepen the kiss and Kazuto began to lose himself slowly relaxing, his finger pushed further and further down, the contact and reassurance of his girlfriend's lips allowed his brain to take over his finger and after a couple of seconds, a soft click was heard.

He sighed as he parted from Asuna's lips, the sweet scent of spring still lingered in his mind, the "are you sure message" popped up on the screen, and Kazuto moved his mouse over to yes and with Asuna's hand on top his, clicked.

Kazuto sat back and looked at the now blank screen, the last tears in his eyes fell, he almost felt Sachi looking down, whether she was proud he did not know, but he felt a burden lifted, like he had just dropped a huge weight he had carried with him for years.

They sat of the bed, Kazuto laying his head on Asuna's lap, she rocked him while humming the soft BGM from the 22nd floor in Aincrad. His hair was messed up, probably from him grabbing it in frustration, her delicate hands traced through his jet black hair as she leaned over forming a curtain with her hair.

"No more pain for my Kirito-kun, ok? Any problems, about anything, you will come to me, ok?"

The reassuring words filled his body with warmth and he replied simply with,

"Of course, and as long as you do the same."

He continued to lose himself in Asuna sweet humming, he could've stayed there forever, he felt small twitches at the edge of his mouth, risking a smile. He sat up and tightly embraced Asuna, she was shocked at how suddenly he did so, but she quickly returned the hug pouring all her love into that one moment. He snuggled his face into the curve of her neck, the sweet spring scent assaulting his sense of smell, Asuna rubbed his back gently,

"Are you alright now Kirito-kun?" Asuna asked.

"Y-yes. It might take a while to get over, but it's gone... Maybe now I can finally let go, hmm?" Kazuto answered much happier.

"Yes... Maybe you can... Do you want me to go get some tea?"

"No... Just, stay with me Asuna. Stay." Kazuto whispered the last word into her ear, and closed his eyes as he lay in the curve of her neck.

The following week Kazuto constantly started to lighten up, by Tuesday, he was talking to his friends, by Thursday he was smiling, by Sunday, he was back to his witty self.

On monday, Kazuto woke up early, he did his normal routine and left a note on the door, informing his family he had left early for an errand. He walked into town and looked at all the shops, the specific one he was looking for, was a jewellery shop, called glistens. He stepped in the bell rang, alerting the owner to the customer's entrance. Kazuto walked up to the counter and looked at the different braclets and earrings on sale, of course there was no real point in buying any one piece, if Asuna wanted some jewellery she could just ask and have it instantly. But Kazuto needed to say thanks for her help last night, and he wanted something special.

"Hey kid! How you doin? Did your girlfriend like the necklace you got her?"

"I'm doing fine, I gave her the necklace for Christmas and there hasn't been a day she hasn't worn it."The owner was a tall man. He was skinny, he wore glasses and all the way down his left arm were tattoos, his was in his late 30's and wore a big ring shaped earring on his right ear. Kazuto had slowly become friends with him as the weeks leading up to Christmas he would keep checking on the heart shaped necklace being made for his love.

"I wanted to ask for a braclet, but is it possible to have words carved into them?"

"Of course it is! What do you need kiddo?"

"I was thinking something like, 'Asuna, thanks for everything. - Love Kirito" Kazuto slightly blushed at voicing his wishes, but quickly overcame it.

"Ah! Ok, I can do that, but I don't want to cost you too much, I doubt your wallet is full of cash you being in high school. Of course it's your choice..."

"I know, I don't have a lot on me right now, but if I can work up to a price you set me, could you do it?"

"Defiantly, as for the price, I'll knock 20% off for you." He generously offered, Kazuto struck a deal with the owner, he would pay half now and the other half in two weeks time,

"The braclet should be ready in a couple of days. See you then!"

Kazuto left the shop with a smile plastered on his face, he had got something she could hopefully, treasure for ever.

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**A/N: I found that chapter difficult to write and I'm sorry if it wasn't up to scratch, I really needed some way to close this up. Next chapter will be better I promise! Again, please review! And as always, Thanks for the support!**


	10. Screams

**A/N: Hey guys! I've been away for a while so I slowed down in the writing of these, sorry about that. Should be getting these out a bit quicker now.**

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Chapter 10

Asuna screamed as she flung out of bed, the horrible nightmare racing through her mind. After about 10 seconds of recovering, she stood up and started her morning routine. It was spring break, and Kazuto had promised Asuna that he would see her every day, even if it was just for half an hour.  
Asuna jigged about excited that she was going to be able to see Kazuto for a whole week!

She also had yet to properly thank him for the wonderful gift he had given her, the white and red bracelet hung loosely from her left wrist, the inscribed words warmed her heart every time she looked. Of course, she had said thank you, but she planned on getting him some extra cookies anyway.

Kazuto met her at the dicey cafe, where he had decided to meet Klein.

"Ah, so I took one of your swords, the system still wouldn't allow me to duel wield?" The headstrong voice was instantly recognised as Klein,

"No. The duel wield skill was set for me and me only, still, what harm would there be in trying? Have a go next time we log in!"  
The owners of ALO had since implemented more things from Sao since the update of new Aincrad, for instance, players could now use sword skills if they were in new Aincrad.

"Defiantly!"

"Ahem. Boys!" Asuna floated up to Kazuto and rested her chin and hands on his shoulders.

"Hey you, sleep well?" Kazuto stroked her right hand with his left affectionately.

"Mm." she pecked his cheek before taking a seat and asking Agil for a soda. Kazuto sipped his morning tea.

"Klein, have you got a girlfriend yet?" Asuna mocked, and with him being such a ladies man this always put him on the defensive.

"E-eh!? No need to rub it in you two, it's not easy you know! I can't just wonder up to a hot girl and say yup, your my girlfriend now. Kinda unlike Kirito here."

"Hey! Don't drag me into this! Besides, we got to know each other along time before we started dating..." Kazuto mumbled the last bit.

"Fine... You two enjoy your date, log in later ok?"

"Sure!" They both cried in unison.

A couple of seconds of awkward silence later Kazuto turned to Asuna.

"So... Were do you want to go today?" Asuna asked shyly, looking downward at her feet,

"Um... I've had an idea for a while, you have a real bad time with horror, right?" Kazuto gave a mischievous grin that sent a shiver down Asuna's spine,

"Y-yes... why?"

"Well, I could help to get rid of that, I have a light horror game, we could work through your fear together!" Kazuto started to get enthusiastic, actually thinking she might agree, but...

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Asuna shouted at the top of her voice, causing Kazuto to fall of his bar stool.

"Just an idea..." he muttered as he lifted himself back up.

They ended up just sitting in the dicey cafe, chatting and teasing,

"I know how to make Asuna blush!" He said, after being accused of blushing around cute girls and of course, defending himself to the end, he shouted Agil, who was in the back washing glasses, when he turned the corner, Kazuto was deeply kissing Asuna.

"My, what a wondrous sight!" Agil beamed, wait for the blushing to begin, Asuna immediately broke off, her face flushed red.

"Kirito-kun!" she then buried her face in his chest, blacking out the world around her, as she soaked up his warmth.

"*sigh* Asuna, do you want to come back to my house? We could be a little more private there." Kazuto traced his fingers through her glowing chestnut hair, and earned himself a brief kiss.

"Ah, Kazuto-kun, I'm hurt!" Agil joked,

"Sorry Agil, can I owe you ¥10?"

"That's nothing! Now, off you go, Scoot!"

The bell rang as they stepped into the day light, they headed out towards the Kirigaya residence, hands entwined.

Asuna was in the bathroom, freshening up. Kazuto had been secretly setting up his horror game on the computer, he put the display to sleep and lay down on his bed. No matter how much he wanted to, he wasn't going to rush or force her. The doorknob turned and Asuna stepped in, wearing a bathroom gown that showed her sleek figure, Kazuto sat eyes wide open, jaw on the floor. He quickly shut his mouth once he saw her red face and swung his arms defensively.

"Kirito-kun. you really need to learn to hide your expressions!" Asuna giggled,

"B-bu-You're just too beautiful Asuna..." He scratched his head.

'Anyway... I've set the horror game up. I'll be here playing the same thing with you on this monitor. At anytime you can pause by pressing this button. I've assigned it to be easy for your thumb to press, you don't have to do this but I think it might help you." Asuna suddenly shivered, as if Kazuto's room was the coldest place on earth.

"I've already said I don't want to!" Asuna stubbornly objected,

"It's ok... I'll be right here. Ten minutes. You might get over it! All I'm asking is for you to give it a go. There's no jump scares, It's purely atmospheric."

"...Fine... Ten Minutes!" She sat next to Kazuto on the bed and picked up the controller he had plugged in. They both pressed start.

2 minutes of gameplay later...

Asuna was walking through a corridor with the shotgun she had picked up earlier, she hated guns, but in this game it almost made her feel safe. Almost. She slowly crept into the next room, fully expecting a monster to be hiding in a wardrobe, Kazuto was bak to back with her, feeling much calmer. His knowledge of this level meant he knew there was jump scares, of course, Asuna was told otherwise. _The monster will be under the bed of the next room!_ He thought, and made sure he had ammo in his rifle.

"Aaaaaaaaah! KIRITO! YOU SAID THERE WEREN'T ANY JUMP SCARES!" She had immediately pressed pause at the instant of sighting the monster and trembled in Kazuto's arms.

"Ah, sorry. There may be a few, but you're doing great, just a little further, ok?"

"N-n-... ok."

They carried on further, Asuna finger steadily teasing the trigger, the monster from the other room was now riddled with bullets and Asuna had only just, after 4 shots of her shotgun, decided it might not get back up.

Kazuto readied his rifle for the coming horde. Asuna screamed again as she heard the roar of zombies charge into the wide area they were residing, and unleashed the berserker inside her, Kazuto steadily and tactically dispatched the closest threats until Asuna turned and nearly shot him in the face.

"Wow, Asuna. You're not that angry are you?"

"S-sorry, thought you were a zombie."

Level cleared.

Asuna threw the controller on the bed and turned to Kazuto.

"That.. That was ok... I'm actually ok."

"See? Told you you'd be fine since you're the strongest person I know..." He warmly embraced her, caressing her cheek with his hand in a soothing way.

"I never want to let you go Kirito. Never." She returned the hug tightly, and eventually lead him into a short kiss.

Asuna arrived home and went straight to bed, being unable to wait to see Kazuto the next day.

She ran and ran. Kazuto was fighting PoH and Jonny black and Red XaXa with all his might, but she didn't have a sword, or any armour. All she could do was watch, or run. She had seen this too many times, and she knew she couldn't do anything to stop it, so she ran. She ran and ran and ran. The inevitable death of herself and Kazuto, was all she could watch. Run, Run, Run, Right left right left right left. Until, ok course, she ran into Kuradeel, who plunged his tainted sword into her soft, beating, heart.

She once again awoke with a scream. The nightmare... The same nightmare. It had haunted her for weeks.

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**A/N Hello! Thanks for the support, and so so so sorry for not uploading for a week. It's my birthday on the 4th and I've been out with my friends and doing last minute homework before school. So yeah. Sorry about not uploading and hope you're excited for next chapter!**


	11. The knight, the idiot and the princess

**A/N: Sorry about being late again, I might make it a weekly thing. If so, Tuesdays will be the day.**

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Chapter 11

Asuna continuously repeated the dream in the back of her mind. Her and Kazuto, both being killed by their worst enemies, Asuna being unable to help as Kazuto fought to the death. She hated it. She never had nightmares, not after meeting Kazuto on that day under the tree. Yet this one was there every night, was it something to do with the bracelet? She thought,  
"...No that's stupid."

"Is something wrong" Kazuto's warm voiced filled her room and she was dragged back into reality. Everything about him was warm. His touch, his voice and his love. Unlike the cold dream.

"N-no... Nothings wrong Kirito-kun!" She stared at him with a fake smile, trying her best not to show. Of course, Kazuto knew her better than that.

"Yes there is... It's ok, you can tell me you know, besides, a fake smile is never as warm as a real smile from you?" He cocked his head and beamed at Asuna, who just dropped her smile.

"... You know me too well Kirito-kun... I've been having this... Nightmare. It involves all our enemies and the death of us..."

Kazuto stared at her with a blank expression, Is this what been troubling her?

"Don't worry Asuna, remember, Kayaba is in the internet, Sugou is deep in jail and Kuradeel died a long time ago. There's nothing to worry about." He lightly rubbed her shoulder,

"I, I guess your right, but I've had it for some time now. I don't t know why..." Asuna was sorry for bringing this to Kirito, but this had to be dealt with.

"... hmmm. Come over to my house tonight, 7pm, ask if you can stay the night. That ok?"

"Eh? Oh... well, ok." Asuna shrugged the blush off. Her first sleepover at his house.

"Brother! Klein's at the door and I can't take anymore of his bad flirting, please come and sort him out!" Sugu called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Ugh... I'll be back soon, I promise." He lightly kissed her forehead and started walking down the stairs, when he came to the front door Klein protected his body with his hands.

"Don't hit me Kirito-kun! I didn't flirt that much! I promise!" Klein defended,

"I won't, but don't try and use your terrible pick up lines on my sis-cousin."

"I-I... You know me too well Kirito... Anyway, I was gonna head down the the dicey, wanna come?" Klein hastily changed the subject,

"I would, but Asuna is upstairs. I'm just in the middle of talking to her about something important." Kazuto apologised to his older friend,

"Ahhhh, I see. Nice use of code buddy. We you when you're finished" He winked a suggestive wink, obviously stating something completely inappropriate.

"...You sir, Are an idiot. We are not doing such things, I simple meant it in the literal sense. Dummy." Kazuto kept his calm long enough to get that out, fighting the red flushing his cheeks.

"Neh, why not bring Asuna with you?"

"Ugh... Not today, this is rather important Klein, I'll meet up with you somewhere later or tomorrow to make up for today, sorry man." Kazuto apologetically sighed.

"Nah, it's fine, see ya later!"

Agil was cleaning his glass as always, when Kazuto walked in.

"Hey Agil, you couldn't possibly give me all my drinks for free?"

"Hey Klein, what do you mean? That's bad for business!"

"Ugh... Twas worth a try?"

"Defiantly not, There was no point, the answer isn't going to change." Agil gave can stern look and pored him his real alcoholic drink, in which he drank in minutes.

"Would it be weird if I liked my best friends cousin? Klein blurted out,

"...Honestly Klein, Why can't you do anything simple?"

"What can I say, I'm a complex loveable person!" Klein almost shouted so loud it could reach Kazuto's house.

"Sure. If you're gonna have a chances at Sugu, one you need Kazuto's permission and two you need to stop that horrible flirting you do."

"You mean my masterful, awesome and extremely arousing conversing techniques?!" Klein sarcastically laughed.

"Yeah, sure. Just make sure you ask Kirito, He'll kill you over and over if you don't."

Back in Kazuto's bedroom, he got ready, he prepared his nerve gear and set up the surprise he was going to save until he had figured a way to get Yui across. He had created a world similar to that of the 22nd floor of Aincrad, complete with his wonderful house. Yui wasn't fully compatible yet and he had taken the time to make sure it wouldn't damage her when she did enter. This was meant to be the perfect place for the three, a place where Yui could experience childhood without the fear of monster spawns and field bosses. A place where Asuna and Kazuto had all the time in the world to be together. Paradise.

He checked everything once more and started to get dressed, he wore a navy blue smart shirt, a pair of jeans and his black socks.

Asuna had her beautiful spring dress with the red ruffles and her white and red high socks. Gosh, I look just like I did in the KoB. Hmm does it matter? She thought while she twirled in the mirror, after deciding it looked ok she walked downstairs toward the front door.

"Mum! I'm going to Kazuto's place!"

"That boy again?! Are you staying!"

"Maybe! If so I'll be back before 11 tomorrow!"

"Fine...! But I will find an acceptable suitor soon!"

Ah... right. She still had to have that argument with her mother, even if it meant her being kicked out and cut off, she would never accept any suitor. Ever. She ran towards Kazuto's house, excited.

Earlier when Kazuto had shooed Klein off he returned to the room.

"Ugh. He's gone. Now Asuna, the reason I wanted you to come over tonight is that I have a surprise for you, I was going to wait for a bit first, however I think it might help."

"O-okay. Thank you. I'm sorry about this but I don't think I can bear seeing you die again." Asuna started to sniffle,

"Don't cry, you're stronger than that. You won't have to after tonight, I promise." Kazuto wiped a small tear from her eye with his thumb as he praised her. Tonight. Tonight will be warm.

When Asuna arrived at Kazuto's house she hesitated before knocking as a sudden thought crossed her mind. What if the surprise has got something to do with se- No! She banished those thoughts from her mind as she knew that Kazuto knew about how the atrocious acts from Sugou had really opened a wound mentally on those actions. She would need time and Kazuto was giving such time.

She gasped as she saw Kazuto's smart casual attire. He had a navy blue shirt, it was certainly nice to see a difference in colour and his favoured denim jeans.

"Where's the black Kirito-kun?" Asuna joked, chuckling between her hands.

"Ah, well tonights a special occasion. I can't wait to show you!"

The two lovebirds ran inside his house, to experience something that would make every living moment brighter.

Klein called Kazuto for the third time, He needed him to pick up. It was really important, like, really really important. The only thing he could think about was how important this was. Finally a soft click was heard.

"Kirito! Finally!"

"Make it quick Klein, I'm busy, sorry. What do you need?"

The moment had come he had to tell him, he had to tell him the most important thing.

"Uhhh, can I ask your cousin out?" A few moments of silence and a quelled anger later Kazuto simply said,

"No." And he hung up. Quick and sharp. Klein sat down after receiving the answer he had predicted. "Well, I'll have to try again tomorrow." Klein was a stubborn thing.

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**A/N: So sorry about being late! I will get these back up to speed I promise. For now, please bear with me. I'm thinking this could be the start of something, eh?**


	12. Paradise

**A/N: I'm Gonna upload these every tuesday. Should help me keep on track! Thanks to Avoids for letting me know that the POV and time swaps were confusing, I've sorted that! Anyway, thanks for reading all these stories, you guys are awesome! (insert big cheesy grin)**

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Chapter 12

Asuna was speechless. The wonderful home they had lived together in Sao was rebuilt. Perfectly. Every single detail down to the difference in shades of brown was perfect.

"Oh-K-Kirito... It's, It's-" Asuna couldn't finished her words. Any good dreams she had were exactly like this. The view from the balcony was that of the lake on the 22nd floor in Aincrad. It was beautiful.

"Beautiful. I know. We finally have our home back Asuna! This can be our place, just you and me, our tranquil, beautiful home..." Kazuto exhaled heavily. His hard work had paid off, to see Asuna so happy was the single most greatest thing he had ever seen.

Asuna felt the tears well up in her eyes, our family, she thought, can be together, properly.

"But it's not finished." Kazuto's sudden speech startled Asuna, but she didn't even twitch.

"How can it not be? It's perfect Kirito!"

"Nonsense. I'm working on getting Yui in here without any internal damage to her, or the programme. I also need to set up a private server specifically set for this world. So, give me a couple of months and it'll be ready!" Kazuto gave a thumbs up.

"Ah, yes. I almost forgot!" Kirito ran down stairs, tugging Asuna along, he stopped in their living room, staring at the marvellous sight sitting above the fireplace. The Elucidator and the Lambient light, crossed in a glass frame strapped onto the wall.

"Kirito! H-how did you-"

"Using the Sao servers from Alfheim, I found the code for each object and translated it into a object for use in this world! For now there are no sword skills, but I'm working on that. Besides, I doubt we'll be fighting with them here much."

"Kirito. This is the most wonderful thing in the world!"

"Of course! It suits the most wonderful girlfriend in the world!" Kazuto put on a big cheesy grin,

"That was cheesy, wasn't it..."

"It was cute Kirito... Just another thing about you to love."

The two lips collided , the sunsetting in the distance.

~Back in the real world, Kazuto's house.

"Sugu! Dinner's ready!" Kazuto shouted at the bottom of the stairs. He had tried to make the meal with Asuna but it ended up with him just passing her cooking items like a nurse passing tools to a surgeon.

"Ah! Coming! Mum! Asuna and Kazuto say dinner is ready!" Sugu put down her phone and ran downstairs, the wondrous aroma wafted by her nose.

"Asuna! That smells lovely!"

"Hey! I helped out! ... A bit... Hardly at all..."

"Haha, you did well Kazuto!" Asuna chuckled from behind,

"Leave him alone Sugu." Another teasing voice came from the stairs,

"Ah! We're all here, table's set, we'll be in with the food in a sec."

The atmosphere was warm. The clutter of cutlery and the sounds of laughter filled the dining area, Asuna just wished her family could be the same.

"Ah! Asuna, did I ever show you Kazuto's baby album?" Midori asked from across the table,

"No! Asuna, you don't want to see that, do you? Midori, Please..."

"Oh Kiri- Kazuto I'd love to see it! Yes please Midori!"

"Ugh... oh good god. Kill me." Kazuto huffed as Midori went to find the album,

"Awww, Kazuto. Little embarrassed that your girlfriends gonna see your cute, teensy weensy baby pictures?" Sugu teased,

The cutlery was thrown in the sink and Kazuto managed to bear through the horrible embarrassment. After Sugu and Midori had gone out to Sugu's friend's birthday party, Asuna and Kazuto were left in peace.

"Ahhh. Well, that's over." Kazuto was, of course, referring to the baby album,

"Haha, I won't say anything... I can't do it, You were so cute! In the pictures and when you were blushing uncontrollably! ... I nearly called you Kirito in front of your parents earlier... I'm sorry I just"

"Why did you stop?"

"E-eh!? Because, Because it's rude!"

"Not really, It's my name to you. Midori and Sugu both completely understand the whole Sao incident, well, to a certain degree at least. They wouldn't think it rude for you to call me Kirito, even Kirito-kun!" Kazuto chuckled slightly as he said that,

"... O-ok..."

"Now, come here, TV's on." Asuna knew Kazuto didn't really want to watch TV, he wanted to snuggle on the sofa. Of course, Asuna didn't have any objections.

They sat in front of the TV for hours and hours, savouring each other's warmth.

"H-hey... Are you staying tonight?" Kazuto asked shyly.

"Well, that depends if you want me to."

"Of course I-! It would be nice, yes." Kazuto stopped himself from sounding too enthusiastic.

"Haha, Kirito-kun, you don't have to hide your enthusiasm. Unless you're getting the wrong ideas..." Kazuto waved his arms about in a frenzy,

"N-No! It'd just be nice to wake up with you in a morning!"

"So you're saying you want to sleep with me?" Asuna continued to tease with an innocent smile,

"N-no, wait Yes? Which ever one let's me live!" Kazuto coward in the face of such a fierce foe.

"Hahahaha, Kirito-kun you're so cute when you're terrified!"

"You meanie..." Kazuto said shaking his head,

"Hey, isn't that my line?" Asuna said from his side,

"Mm. Don't worry, I'll get you back."

"Sure."

Silence filled the room.

"So, urm, want to go to bed?" A shy and worried Kazuto spoke.

"So you do just want to sleep with me!"

"Yes! No wait... JUST sleep. Not anything else."

"Haha, I'm not making the same mistake again, am I? Yes Kirito-kun, I am getting tired, let's go." The couple walked up the stairs hand in hand and went into Kazuto's bedroom.

"So... Do you want to get dressed here or in the bathroom?"Kazuto voiced before Asuna could tease,

"Well, why not get changed in the same room?"

"E-eh!? But you- I-"

"With our backs together, moron." Asuna knew how mean this was, but she couldn't resist.

"But that means... You meanie. You know I can't resist that!"

"Are you perverted?"

"No..."

"Then around."

Kazuto fought the urge to turn around, even if he himself was just in underpants, but surly Asuna would be turned as well, just one peek! The temptation continued to attack him but he held his ground, "I am not perverted!" He shouted as a battle cry,

"Awwww, poor Kazuto, all he needs to do is quickly move his head, but is it worth the risk?" Asuna's voice went from teasing to maniacal,

"...Why..." A soft whimper escaped his lips,

Ok, Asuna. That's enough. Asuna thought to herself. In nothing but her undergarments she pressed her body against Kazuto's,

"Ah? Um-"

"Shhhh." Asuna hushed his shy sounds as she turned him to face her,

"Maybe I was a little too mean, here is your reward for the resistance", She pulled him in and met his lips, teetering on her tip toes she suddenly felt herself lifted up, she straddled her legs around Kazuto and ruffled his hair.

"Kazuto! Asuna! We're home!" Asuna gasped and unhooked her legs, Kazuto rushed to his pile of clothes and began to change, they only just finished when Sugu walked in.

"Didn't do any fooling around then? Ugh... I was excited to see your blushed faces!"

"Sugu!" Kazuto's face flushed red, "Gah... geezus. Good time at your friends?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go vomit from the amount of cake I ate but yeah, it was good."

"Ah ok. See ya!" The two cried in unison.

Their night, was just beginning.

~The dicey cafe. Klein POV.

"Agil!"

"Klein, He said no?"

"Ah, good guess." Klein sat on the barstool.

"Not a guess, a fact. You're going to have to ease him into thew Idea of his best friend going out with his sister I mean cousin."

"Maybe... But another thing is Sugu liking me back, There's no point in getting Kazuto's permission if she doesn't like me."

"Then ask her to go on walks with you, go out hiking or fishing or something. Get close to her before you ask her on a date."

"This is so weird taking about Kirito's sis like this."

"Hey, you brought it up in the first place."

"I know, I know. Guh. This is gonna take a while."

~Back at Kazuto's bedroom.

Kazuto lay on his bed while Asuna brushed her hair, he had to refrain from looking since he would get instantly captivated when he did so. He looked at his nerve gear lying on the shelf.

"Hey, wanna go into our programme for a bit? Just you and me." Kazuto held puppy dog eyes as he faced Asuna,

"Hey, there's no need to plead! Of course, I'd love to!" He opened up the file on his computer named surprise! He needed to change that and made a mental note to do so.

The lake was still warm, the sun reflected at a perfect angle and bounced on to their balcony and into the house, Kazuto woke slowly looking at his beautiful girlfriend softly sleeping on his chest. He looked up at the armour on the wall, well not armour, his famed Blackyrm coat hung from a Nail inside a glass display case, right next to Asuna's KoB uniform. Yui's tiny white dress hung in between them.

Our family. Kazuto thought.

~ A week or so on.

The dreams. They've almost stopped! Asuna thought. Since Kazuto had given her a copy of the programme of their world, she had slept peacefully at night. Kazuto had his private server up and running from his home computer, so they could log in like any other game, anytime, anywhere.

Most of the time she would sleep in the nerve gear with Kazuto. She loved it, opening her eyes and seeing Kazuto first thing in the morning was her paradise. Kazuto had been working incredibly hard to get Yui in, but there was always some sort of problem, like a certain file wouldn't accept her or it would treat her as a foreign object and try to delete her. He was so close, yet so far.

~The Dicey cafe.

"Hi Agil, one soda please." Kazuto walked in with a smile,

"That'll cost ya... One shred of info on how your paradise is going."

"Ah, is business getting that tough that you have to bribe people for things you want?"

"Do you want your soda?"

"Sure"

"Then I wouldn't tease." Agil gave a stern look, he was joking of course but it still intimidated Kazuto.

"It's going fine. The house is finally finished and Yui is almost compatible. I just can't find out why the last piece of coding is rejecting her..." He pulped a large portion of his soda.

"Is it something to do with the world?"

"No, checked that hundreds of times. It's almost as if it knows her, like it knows she's trouble." It had been a bit on a strain, what with school and their virtual home and trying to plan out perfect dates with Asuna.

"Hmph. I dunno. Any clues?" Kazuto asked Agil while drinking some more of his soda.

"What about rewriting the code but with Yui already set in?"

"Maybe... But I don't know what the last line of code is, It could be something important..."

"Kid, stop for a while. Enjoy life for a bit. It's spring break next week, go and do so something with Asuna!" Agil encouraged,

"Fine, fine. I just really want it finished." He finished his soda,

"I know, but just relax for a bit. It could help in the end."

"Sure." Kazuto got ready to leave but Agil stopped him,

"I hate to say this because he's an idiot, but you need to help Klein. He's gone mad over this idea that he must go out with your cousin. Either knock some sense into him or talk to Sugu. He really does need to speak to you."

"Ah, this again? Ok." Kazuto left the shop and the door made a soft ding sound.

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**A/N: Haha. This was fun to write. Please review!**


	13. Struggles and Celebrations

**A/N: I want to begin this with a FUUUUUUU-! Grr! I was ready to upload this and then I was stupid and pressed backspace after highlighting it. Screw you life. Anyway, this is an attempt at a recovery, it might not be as long as it would've been and I'm sorry if the day this is out on is not Tuesday.**

* * *

Chapter 13

Asuna's hand entwined with Kazuto's as they headed away from her estate. Happiness drifted around the two as if it were a physical object, the birds sang and the sunlight shone. It was a beautiful day.

"So, Asuna. What do you wanna do today?" Kazuto said this in a suggestive tone,

"Anything is good with you Kirito-kun... Wait not anything, I know you and your dirty thoughts!" She stuck her tongue out at him,

"Hey! I'm not perverted!"

"Mm. You keep telling yourself that."

"I'm not the one who misunderstood my meaning of sleeping together!" Asuna cheeks flushed red,

"Yeah, well, what do you think sleeping together means to people?"

"It means to sleep next to them, hence the word sleep."

"Ah, whatever. You where saying?"

"After I was interrupted? Ah, how about the gardens?"

"We went there yesterday, and the day before."

"And?"

"You always like to mix it up, unless you have some hidden motive."

"Ah, You got me. I smuggle priceless flowers out to pirates." She rolled her eyes,

"Haha. Now, is there something specific you wanted me for? Because you don't normally ask me where we're going, you have it all planned out."

"You know me too well." Kazuto scratched the back of his head as he stopped and turned to Asuna, "You see, I need a little help. It's to do with Yui. She won't talk to me."

Asuna gasped, "R-really?! You should've told me!"

"It's got something to do with moving to Paradise." Paradise was what Kazuto had decided to name their world,

"Ah. You didn't-"

"No, I didn't do anything, I told her it's ready for her to try to move across then she ran off. I don't understand, she was so determined, and now every time I get close, she teleports off. I'm so worried Asuna!" He sniffled a little before embracing Asuna,

"I don't want to lose her again Asuna... You have to help."

"Of course dummy. Of course I will."

~In game, Alfheim.

"She's moving. Take a left."

"Right."

"No, left.

"... *Sigh* Affirmative."

"Just messing with you." Kazuto was at his computer, speaking to Asuna through a virtual and not so virtual earpiece. His girlfriend was lying on his bed in her nerve gear.

"S-She's in our house!" Kazuto startles Asuna,

"What? We were there just five minutes ago!"

"She must be looking for something. Go." Asuna's feet were already heading towards their house, even before Kazuto had said, Go.

The door shook as it slammed open, revealing their beautiful house.

"Yui! Yui!" Asuna cried out in hope of a reply,

"Mama!" Yui ran down the stairs,

"Oh Yui... Why did you run off?"

"I didn't Mama, I came here to meet you... Pa... Papa's not here is he?"

"No dear. Sorry, why haven't you spoke to him?"

"B-Because...I'm scared Mama. I don't want to be lost in all that code transfer."

"Oh Yui. Papa would never let that happen."

"Papa's not the problem. What if it rejects me... or I get alterated in the process... I just don't want to disappoint Papa." Yui looked down and clicked her heels,

"... You don't have to do it you know. You can stay right here, we'll always be with you."

"But I want to... I'm just terrified." A bright light appeared before Yui and Asuna,

"Ah Kirito!"

"Papa?"

The light disappeared leaving a slim Spirrigan figure complete with a giant black sword and a thin red sword.

"Yui, please, don't run." Kazuto said standing on the opposite side of the room to her, much to his surprise she ran at him and attack hugged him.

"I'm so sorry for making Papa worry!" She clung to his neck squeezing the life out of him,

"It's fine Yui. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Sure, sure. As sure as sure is sure."

"Sure!" Kazuto laughed.

~Final preparations before transfer.

"Are you ready Yui? Last chance."

"Do it Papa."

The white light appeared before Yui, sucking her in. Kazuto and Asuna where watching Kazuto's three monitors, which displayed the code showing Yui's progress. Her personality data was first and that would include her consciousness. To an A.I the firewalls looked like walls that were on fire, she would simply have to get over it. Jump. She landed and used the momentum to perform a roll, softening the impact. The anti-virus was similar, however it shot small projectiles that hindered her progress, of course, years of training in Sao and Alfheim meant her reaction time was incredibly fast, the projectiles were nothing.

"Alright! Yui, you're nearly there. Keep going!" Asuna and Kazuto cried in unison.

She could see Paradise on the other side, all that stood in her way was the giant. In other words, it was the final defence, the strongest firewall, however this looked like a giant, holding a club in one hand and a dagger in the other. Yui had tried to get past him before but had failed. She ended up back in Alfheim.

This time! She thought. Her lack of armour made her footsteps almost inaudible, she stepped closer and closer to Paradise. Of course, it couldn't be that easy, she roles to the left seconds before the club struck the ground. She grabbed the small rapier on her hip and drew it in the manner Asuna had taught, she reached behind her and pulled out a long black one handed sword. Her parents had taught her well, she jumped up and struck the giants eye initiating the battle.

Meanwhile on Kazuto's monitor, the firewall tried to survive the constant onslaught of attacks from the codes Yui was churning out. Kazuto helped, the result of which being environmental changes in Yui's favour.

The snowy mountain they were now on shook as the metal clashed with the giant's club and dagger. She took three steps and slashed it's thigh, the giant fell backwards creating an opportunity for Yui, she attacked it relentlessly causing cries of pain to blurt out. A final kick from a crouched position sent it sprawling over the edge of the mountain.

Paradise was finally hers.

"She did it!" Kazuto and Asuna cried and jumped and celebrated, falling into one another's embrace,

"We did it Asuna. I-... I love you." Kazuto's first announcement of love was met with a warm kiss planted on his lips.

~Paradise.

"Yum! That was great Mama!" The little girl wiped her mouth with her napkin after finishing her extra spicy meal,

"Spicy lobster in a VR game? One of your finest Asuna." Kazuto grinned,

"Aww, thanks you two. Desert?"

"Of course?!" Kazuto laughed at Yui's mistaken pun.

"Ah... Punny." The three finished their meal with the warm atmosphere floating around the table, endless laughs and jokes soon filled the house. They were finally together, as a family.

~IRL, Dicey cafe.

"... So, your birthday is tomorrow and you only invited me today, you have a huge crush on my sister and you are going to America soon for a job interview? Jesus man, please try to be more organised." Kazuto's voice echoed through the empty bar.

"Yeah."

"... Fine. You have my permission to go out with my sister... on one condition."

"Yeah?"

"No dirty business."

"Are you kidding? I would never do such a thing."

"Sure. You're a horny single guy living on his own."

"Well... You have got a point. Of course not Kazuto. I'll keep my word."

"Of course, Sugu has to like you, which will be the most difficult thing, to get her to like you, you will ever have to do in your life."

"Sure man. My flirting is the best,"

"Sure."

"So... Can you come tomorrow."

"And miss you being stupid and drunk? Wouldn't miss it for the world... Well, maybe the world but ya know..."

"Meanie. See you tomorrow." With that Klein left, feeling as if a small burden and been lifted.

"Man, that guy..."

"Yeah. But he's good at heart. You know that, Kirito-kun." Agil replied.

"Yeah. Better wrap up, it's a long walk home." Kazuto left a small tip for Agil and left with his coat firmly wrapped around him.

~Kirigaya estate.

"Sugu, Mom, I'm home!"

"Onii-chan!" Sugu ran down the stairs in her slippers.

"Hey. You been alright?"

"Are you saying I can't take care of myself? Hmph." Sugu folded her arms under her chest,

"Hey, do you like Klein?"

"Well, yeah."

"I mean as in... like like."

"Ohhhhh. Well... I don't know really. I don't know him well enough to deduce."

"Haha, just wondering. Klein's got a party tomorrow at nine, coming?"

"Sure. Nothing to do anyways."

"See you later." He ran up his stairs and whipped out his phone already clicking on Asuna in his contacts.

~Klein's party. 9.00pm.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The tapping of his foot remained in rhythm even over Klein's loud booming music. He had been waiting a good twenty minutes for Asuna to arrive. He had started to panic, she was never late. Something was wrong. He called her for the third time and landed on her voice mail again. Deciding to go check it out he approached Klein.

"Hey buddy, could you help me for a second?"

"Sure."

"Asuna's not showing up, I'm going to go and check everything is ok. If I'm not back in... 60 minutes. Do something. Something faster than what the authorities can do. Jut don't get yourself killed."

"Surly this is where you tell me not to come after me because it's too dangerous."

"One Klein is better than four cops."

"Aww. Thanks man. See you in 60."

Kazuto stormed out of the house towards the Yukki estate. He was over thinking it, wasn't he? What possible way could Asuna be in trouble? Kazuto thought and thought, his logical mind dismissing all the reasons for Asuna to be fine. She could be just taking longer with getting ready, but then his calls wouldn't of missed. He called the house phone too, no answer. The only likely answer was that something bad had happened, and it was holding her up.

"Asuna! Asuna!"

The door wouldn't budge, he knock several times and waited several minutes before attempting to break down the door, however, Asuna's well built oak door could withstand anything he threw at it.

He found the backdoor that led to the kitchen,

"Huh? It's unlocked?" The door swung open gently after a quick push, squeaking slightly.

"Well this is something out of a cliche horror movie." Laughing inside at his joke he stepped in, darkness instantly enveloped him and he began searching for the light switch. Click.

It had been ransacked, the kitchen was empty of it's expensive equipment and the living room had it's TV torn off the wall, Kazuto walked to the centre of the room where the small bracket he had left Asuna lay on the floor. In half.

Tears welled up in his eyes and he cursed the person who did this. It was never easy, not for him. He picked up the half's and put them in his pocket, before a chill ran up through his body, a single word spoke from a monster.

"Kazuto." Sugou glared from behind his glasses, Kazuto had his back turned, but could tell exactly who it was and what he was doing.

"Sugou. How did you get out of whatever hole you were thrown into?"

"Oh, Kazu-kun-"

"You have no right to call me by my nickname." Kazuto spoke coldly and sharply, as if the fear he was experiencing had completely disappeared.

"Fine. Kazuto-kun. You have been a pest from the start but you're untouchable. So going for Asuna made you vulnerable. Haha. Oh thank god I have friends in high places, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to have the pleasure of killing you myself."

"Those who helped you escape are just as bad as you. They have no conscience."

"Maybe, I don't really care. Now, die."

"Not yet. Why don't we settle this in VR?" Kazuto hadn't expected this to work, but if he could avoid the danger off death he would take it."

"Ha, nice try. You think I'd even give a little brat like you a chance at defeating me again? You imbecile."

"It was worth a go." Kazuto turned around, Sugou's popped eye looked up from beneath his glasses, his good eye flaming in anger.

The butcher knife Sugou had hidden revealed itself, the light reflecting off the sharpened blade, it had been serrated a knife purely meant for the pain and death of humans. Sidestep. The thought crossed his mind as the blade thrust forward, aiming just above his pelvis.

Kazuto dodged left and right, his intent right now was only to kill Sugou.

"I will kill you!" This scream penetrated Kazuto's ears but it wasn't Sugou's voice. It was his own. He was lost in the heart of battle, his motives turning from save Asuna and the Yukki family to kill maim and savage. These were dark thoughts, they were not normal for Kazuto, his attacks became fast, very fast. The system wasn't there to help him yet he felt the same as when he fought the bosses of Aincrad. The world became a blur and fists flew in front of him, eventually knocking the butcher knife out of his hand.

"Humph. That was fast, but you didn't think I would only bring that did you?"

"Nah. I'm only just getting started." Kazuto cracked his knuckles.

"Let's see how cocky you are after your girlfriend bleeds out." Sugou's smirk pierced the air,

"What... You- You touched her?" Kazuto's tone was not one of worry but one of rage.

"Well, by touch you mean attacked and mortally wounded? Yes. Of course I did."

Kazuto's steady breathing escalated quickly. His mind became as clear as daylight. Kill him. Save Asuna. These thoughts were the only words he saw, his only thought. The world became black except for him and Sugou. His hands clenched and he drove on forward launching his second volley of attacks.

Sugou pulled out a glock, it pointed straight at him. His finger squeezed around the trigger and the loud bang was heard, it was followed by a soft paff, the sound of the bullet flying through his left shoulder. His bones crunched under the impact and his right hand flew and clutched his shoulder.

"Ha. That was too easy Kazuto. Now, any last words?"

"Not for you, creep." He sprawled on the ground and leaned on a wall while he waited for the end.

"I'm sorry Asuna." He mumbled that under his breath as a final goodbye to the one he loved. After surviving two years in a death game he would die by the hands of a sub-human.

Bang. Kazuto opened his eyes. There was a bullet hole in the ceiling. A tall guy with a bandana was battling Sugou for hold of the weapon while barking orders to the people at the other end of the room.

"K-Klein?!"

"Hey Kirito. Seems like you need a h- Woah!" Another bullet hit the ceiling,

"One sec."

"Hi Sugou, sorry but I really don't appreciate you attacking my friend. Back off."

"Well. This was unexpected. Your crew Kazuto?" Surrounding Sugou stood Lisbeth, Silica, Sugu and Agil. Everyone from the party.

"Yeah, It pays to have friends Sugou."

"Mm. It does. I'll just have to kill them too."

"Not happening." Lisbeth said coldly from behind him .

"Yeah, Sugou you're going down." Silica joined in.

"No one hurts onii-chan and gets away with it." Sugu entered a combat stance,

"Are you sure you want to go against all of us?" Agil finally stepped in.

Klein now held the gun, pointed at Sugou.

"Go on then Klein. Shoot."

"I'm not gonna drop to your level Sugou. But you will drop to Kirito's."

Klein shot Sugou's leg and then released the magazine and threw it away. Sugou screamed in pain. Kazuto crawled towards him.  
Grabbing his wrist he looked Sugou dead in the eye.

"I want to kill you. Know that. Never. Ever. Come near us again."

Kazuto headbutted him so hard he blacked out instantly.

"Right. One problem down, you guys need to help me get Asuna and her parents out safely. Klein, Lisbeth. Third floor."

"Got it." Klein said,

"Affirmative." Lisbeth replied,

"Silica and me will take the second floor. Sugu stay here and watch Sugou. If he wakes up call us down immediately!"

"We got it." Both affirmed in unity.

"Let's go." They all went to their respective areas and began to search, or protect.

"Asuna?! Mr and Mrs Yukki?" Klein shouted down the hall,

"Here! Here!" Two voice came from what Klein thought to be a bathroom.

Slam, slam, slam. The door buckled and burst open, splinters of wood flew everywhere. Mr and Mrs Yukki sat with their hands tied behind their back.

"We got you."

Meanwhile on the other end of the corridor Kazuto and Silica bust down another door. Asuna sat in a puddle of her own blood, putting pressure on the wound.

"K-Kirito-kun? Keiko?"

"It's ok. I got you."

"Hey, I got her too!"

"WE. Got you." Silica held Asuna's wound while Kazuto picked her up in a bridal position.

"You're gonna be fine, you're gonna be fine, You're going to be fine!" He repeated those words over and over in his rush to the hospital.

"Don't worry Kirito. I've survived worse."

Kazuto looked down with his teary eyes.

"I let this happen to you... *sniff* Its my fault."

"No. It's Sugou's."

"He hurt you. That is my fault. I didn't come fast enough."

"N-no it's not... I love you Kirito-kun... My hero." She blacked out.

"Asuna?! Asuna!" The scream echoed through the night.

~ The hospital

Beep. Beep. Beep. That was the first sound Asuna heard. The first sight was the bright light and the first feeling was that of pain. She winced as she touched her recently operated on abodemen. She slid her hand onto her bed and found something. Something warm. It filled the emptiness in her hand, It was Kazuto.

"Hey. Kazu-kun." He didn't answer. He was asleep, well half asleep. He wouldn't stop moving, he was obviously experiencing some kind of nightmare. She shook him, once, twice. He awoke with a loud scream.

"Asuna... You, You're alive?!"

"I wouldn't leave you for the world."

"Oh, oh thank god. You were pronounced dead just an hour ago, I- I nearly killed myself."

Asuna gasped. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose Kazuto, and for her to be pronounced dead! This really must have effected him badly.

"You saved me Kirito-kun. You saved me. I'm fine."  
He sat in silence embracing her. Never wanting to let go.

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**A/N: So what did you think? Sorry about it's lateness. My stupid thingy doesn't have a redo button. I'll be more careful now. Please review and Pm me! I hope you're ok with the drama, I hope to continue it.**


	14. Sunset and dinner

**A/N: Hey! So much going on at the moment, this hopefully will be out on time. Hope you like a bit more of a fluffy chapter?! We'll see.**

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Chapter 14

Intimacy. The one thing Asuna truly struggled with. It wasn't because she was not confident in her self enough or that Kazuto had a problem. It was Sugou's fault. His assault had seriously affected Asuna's mentality on the state of intimacy. Since her escape from Alfheim, she hadn't gone any further than a deep kiss. Kazuto didn't mind, he would do anything for Asuna, if she wanted he would stick to light kisses and embraces forever, no matter how much he wanted more. But that wasn't fair on him, she just needed more time, time to become more confident in her body again.

"Beautiful view, eh?" Asuna jerked back into reality,

"Eh? Oh, yeah." They sat on top of a hill, overlooking a garden of flowers as the sun set, the orange sky mixing with the green of the grass. The scenery was perfect.

"I wish we could sit here forever."

"*Sigh* If only." Asuna rested her head lightly on his injured shoulder, he had still not fully recovered since the events of the last fortnight, the stress of explaining everything to the police, school and Sugou made it difficult to maintain a healthy state of mind.

"Yeah." He patted her head lightly. Asuna's hand was pressed to her stomach, her bandage made it difficult to move. "All I want now is to be back on the 22nd floor, away from everything and everyone. Just you and Me and Yui. One happy family."

"Reality is annoying, eh?"

"No. I've just got a lot on my mind. Gah, sorry, I'm ruining our date."

"No, You're not. As long as I'm with you, I don't care what happens." That statement was completely false, she'd hate many things even if she was with Kazuto, it just felt right in the moment.

"You two enjoying yourselves?" Lisbeth walked behind them, devouring the scene in front of her. Asuna turned around, while Kazuto didn't even flinch.

"Yeah. Kirito-kun is a little stressed. What's up?"

"Well. It doesn't matter. I hate to intrude on your privacy and all. Sorry."

"No, no It's fine. What did you come for?" Kazuto said with his back still facing Lisbeth.

"I came here for the scenery. I wanted a few minutes alone but with you two, It could be even better."

"Feel free." Kazuto was never rude, especially to friends. He just couldn't take his eyes off the scene in front of him. If he did, he feared he would be dragged back into reality, where all of his worries and horrors resided.

Asuna leaned in and kissed Kazuto on the cheek. Lisbeth didn't bother teasing. She wasn't in the mood. She hadn't expected to feel like this after the Sugou fiasco. Lisbeth must have somewhere, somehow thought she had a chance with him, even when he was with her best friend, this small flare of hope, this tiny glimmer of chance, was blown out of the water after the fight with Sugou. He had charged in headfirst, not even giving a thought as to what his friends might have felt if he had got hurt, or even died.

Of course, she didn't blame him, his mind was set straight on Asuna. His one true love. She would just have to grit her teeth and bear through it.

"We never get to live for long do we? Something always manages to pop up." Lisbeth spoke in a longing tone.

"Yeah. I want a day to just simply be. To do nothing and sit in the shade of a tree, just like I could in Sao. Honestly, I feel like I almost miss that place. I know I shouldn't, but I can't take pressure and there, I didn't have to. Other than the boss fights."

"We're not going to get mad at you for that Kirito. We understand. But that place was a hell, not a heaven." Asuna said coldly, no matter what, she would hate that place for the things it did to people. He did too, he just hated this world as much at that moment. Of course, whatever world he was in, he would always love Asuna, that was the thread he hung onto to keep his sanity, Asuna.

"Of course... I just... Need time, time I don't have." Kazuto sighed.

"Is there any way I can help Kirito?" Lisbeth knew it sounded suggestive, but with Asuna's relationship to Sugou, she wouldn't be able to see him with out burning into a fury.

"It's ok, all my friends have asked the same thing. Even Asuna. I can't drag you too far into this. As soon as it's over, I'm going to book some kind of vacation. We'll all have a weekend together in the country somewhere. Somewhere away from all the hassle of life."

"Sounds fun. I love you Kirito, remember that, you'll get through this, with all of us." Asuna smiled warmly and lay back with her head now tucked firmly under Kazuto's chin.

"Lisbeth... I... I do need help with one thing."

"Yes?!"

"This won't be easy, please understand." He started to whisper so Asuna wouldn't hear.

"I need you to make sure Silica doesn't try to hit on me. You too please. It's because of the stress. Asuna won't take much more either, just back off for a little bit ok?"

"...I...I." Kazuto lightly pecked her cheek.

"Do it for Asuna. Ok?" Lisbeth face flushed red, her heart fluttered and she nearly fainted. All she got was a quick kiss on the cheek and this is what happened? She was pathetic.

"O-of course! Anything for my favourite couple!" She plastered a grin across her face.

"Thanks." Silence fell. The sun disappeared over the horizon and the night sky appeared. The numerous stars highlighted the grass and the three fell onto their backs. Kazuto played with Asuna's chestnut hair affectionately.

"A vacation eh?... We'll get through this. We must."

"I promise to never drag you guys into anything again. No matter how serious."

"No Kirito-kun We're all equals. We lean on one another." The two girls said in unison. The giggles that followed calmed Kazuto slightly. At least I have this to live for.

~Back at Kazuto's home.

"Mom! Sugu! I'm home!" He wished to say Asuna! I'm home! But that day would have to wait.

"Hey Kazu-kun." Sugu trotted from inside the living room, dressed in her kendo wear.

"Hey Sugu. What have you been up to?"

"Kendo."

"Ah. Is it my turn to cook tonight?"

"Actually, we have a surprise for you."

"Eh?"

"Asuna's cooking tonight."

"Oh thank god. One more meal from you and I might become a salad."

"Humph. Meanie. She's coming over at 6 so be ready!" Sugu lectured before preparing herself in her room.

Inside Kazuto thought he should've just told Asuna not to come as it's so troublesome and whatnot. His recent state of mind had been completely different and he had taken every opportunity to make himself happy. He hated being the one having the fun at other's expenses, he just wasn't that kind of person, but for a few days, he thought it might be ok.

Kazuto changed from his black attire into a navy blue casual shirt and some denim jeans. He didn't know why he didn't stick to his black clothes. Maybe he just wanted to try something different. He wore an analogue watch too. He never wore his analogue watch.

"What am I doing?" He said as he looked at himself in the mirror holding his arms out to his sides.

"You look dashing." The giggling voice from the doorway was Sugu.

"You think so? I don't know. Black looks better on me."

"You need to come clothe shopping with me. We are going to buy some actual clothes. Ones with colour!" Kazuto pretended to be disgusted by the idea.

"No! Anything but that!"

"What, colourful clothes?"

"No. Shopping with you." He laughed at Sugu's pout, until he felt a sharp pain in his gut. In other words, Sugu's fist.

"I deserved that."

"You did."

Ding dong. Kazuto rushed out the room to greet Asuna.

"Hey."

"Wow... Where's the black Black swordsman?" Asuna's lighthearted tone instantly warmed Kazuto's heart,

"Yeah... I just decided to where something different..."

"You look handsome." Asuna pecked his cheek before striding in. He pressed his hand to the place she had just kissed.

"Ah... We really need more alone time."

He backed into his house.

~Dinner.

Sugu sat across from Asuna and Kazuto, next to Midori, Devouring the perfect meal. Kazuto had more spices on his plate, but she doubted she could handle his amount of spice.

"So... Are you two doing ok?" Midori asked hoping to break the silence,

"Of course!" Asuna answered still beaming, she shared a look with Kazuto, who likes back affectionately.

"Well, I could use some proof..." Sugu mentioned, obviously trying to embarrass at least one party. Kazuto glared at her for her subtle challenge and turned to Asuna,

"Say ahh." Asuna did as she was told, a sensation of spice entered her mouth as Kazuto's hot rice ball was delicately placed inside.

"Nawww."

"Ha. Ha. There, you have rice on your face." He wiped a grain off Asuna's lip and continued his own meal.

"This is the best meal you have ever done Asuna. It's amazing."  
Asuna blushed,

"T-Thank you. Kirito-kun."

"Humph. He loves my salad, really." Sugu pouted

"Sure he does." Midori spoke from the side.

"Honestly!"

"Ummm. Asuna is a pretty good cook..."

"Really? Ugh..."

"I could teach you, If you wanted." Asuna smiled joyfully, fully intending to do so.

"Th-that'd be great!" Kazuto smiled at the two's resolve. It would give his girlfriend and his sister more time to get to know each other.

~Back in Kazuto's room.

"A few cottages... South of Japan... Countryside... Affordable... Hmm. Sounds good. I'll wait until after all my business is sorted, but that sounds awesome." Kazuto bookmarked the booking sight and left his computer.

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**A/N: Sorry it's a bit shorter than the last. It's also posted at 11pm. It still counts as Tuesday... Right? Anyway, I've got an Idea for the next few chapters so stay tuned! Please review and or Pm me! Thanks for the support as always!**


	15. The Italian

**A/N: Hello again. I get my new phone on the 9th! Woo! No one cares! Why did I put that there?! I don't know! Let's go!**

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Chapter 15

"It's over... Thank my lucky stars." Kazuto left the courthouse for the last time, Sugou's sentence had been brought down upon him, 20+ years in jail with no chance of parole. It was acceptable, Kazuto thought, although he personally thought he deserved worse, of course, it was a very boast point of view. Asuna waited for him on the bench outside the main entrance, he instantly grinned when he saw her.

"Hey."

"Hey Kirito-kun, Is it over?"

"Yes... It's over. We won't be seeing him for a long time. He got 20+ years in jail. No chance of parole."

"That's good, he's hurt us enough. It's wrong... But I think he deserved worse." Asuna's cold tone didn't suit her, but she couldn't even speak his name without contorting into anger.

"So. Where are we going?" Asuna changed the subject,

"We could have lunch at the mall? Or we could go to that new Italian restaurant that just opened-" Kazuto was startled when Asuna jumped into his arms,

"Really?!" Asuna beamed. The Italian restaurant that had just opened was extremely expensive, Asuna a had wanted to go ever since it was opened, but Kazuto couldn't afford it and he didn't want to make Asuna pay.

"Yep. Been saving up for the past two months." Kazuto's genuine affection cut through Asuna's chestnut eyes.

"You're the best Kirito-kun."

"You're better." Asuna snuggled into his chest.

~The Italian.

"A pepperoni pizza with mushrooms please." Kazuto knew he probably should have ordered something more classy in such a restaurant but he couldn't resist a good old Italian pizza when he saw it on the menu.

"I'll have the same please." Kazuto almost gasped,

"Don't you want something more classy?"

"Why?"

"Well' it's a posh restaurant and you were brought up in a wealthy family so..."

"I don't care. I want the same as Kirito-kun. Plus, I haven't had a pizza in two months." Asuna laughed as Kazuto simply shrugged and sat back into his chair. The atmosphere was very sophisticated, wine glasses and candles filled every table and the music was slow and calming. This was a very romantic restaurant, which was why Kazuto had saved up for ages to book a seat here.

"Hello? Kirito-kun?" Kazuto snapped back into reality,

"Ah, sorry, I spaced out."

"Dummy. I said, why don't we have a wine?" The idea never came across his mind. He never drank, not even in Agil's bar. It wasn't technically legal unless it was with a meal. Which they were having.

"Well... Do you want to?" Kazuto asked, he didn't know himself if he wanted to. He didn't want to get drunk but the idea of having a wine in such a place was very appealing.

"I don't mind. It's Kirito-kun's choice. Asuna was 17. Which meant she was still under the legal age to drink in a bar but not at home or with a meal. Same as Kazuto.

"Sure. Let's have one. But don't go too far."

"Of course not. It'll just be fitting in this place to have a wine instead of a soda. Unless you don't want to, I'm not forcing you to."

"No, no. Go ahead. When he comes with the pizza." Kazuto liked the idea of sharing a wine with his girlfriend. It made him feel as if hem was sophisticated, upper class. Like a gentlemen.  
"I'm uhh. I'm sorry about being so distant this past week, I tried to spend more time with you but..."

"It's ok Kirito-kun. I don't mind, It's not your fault." Asuna gave her perfect smile that always managed to calm him. His flustered mind had calmed significantly since entering this restaurant, probably due to Asuna.

The pizza tasted like heaven. He had been eating Sugu's salad for far too long and he hadn't had the time to have Asuna's cooking. The texture and the tomato-y cheesy mix made him savour every last crumb. To Asuna he must have looked like a baboon.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself." Asuna was eating her pizza in a much more delicate way, it fit her. Although it was weird to Kazuto to see someone eat a pizza with a knife and fork.

"Of course I am. I'm eating a pizza in an Italian restaurant with my favourite person. What's not to like?'" Kazuto blushed internally.

"That's a coincidence. I happen to be doing the same thing under the same circumstances." Asuna also blushed, but hid it under her hair by looking down.

Their wines arrived.

"Well... I never really like alcohol but... well there's a first for everything." He didn't like it. At all. The taste or the smell. However he continued to drink it, simply not to be rude.

"Well... That was pretty disgusting."

"Really? I kinda liked it..." Asuna smiled softly.

"I'll stick to my squash and soda for now, you're welcome to have another."

"Nah. I'm good." The two continued to enjoy their meals in peace.

~Back at Kazuto's house.

"Are you kidding me? Oh for crying out loud..." The small cottage Kazuto had been eyeing for the last two weeks was rented, just as he was about to book it himself.

"Great... Maybe I should've saved it for our honeymoon anyway..." Stupid! He thought, I shouldn't' be thinking like that, I'm nowhere near ready to propose and even if I did there's no guarantee she would say yes!

"Kazuto! Salad's ready!" Kazuto jerked himself from his thoughts.

"Come on... Really Sugu!? Salad! Again?!"

"Of course, It's my trademark!" Kazuto sluggishly stood from his chair and trudged down stairs.

"Why don't you try making meat?"

"Well, why don't you cook?"

"Because the house would burn down."

"Exactly, now eat up!" He felt like his skinny frame was due to the amount of lettuce and tomatoes he area because of Sugu.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you! Asuna called, she said she wanted to meet you in the mall."

"Ah, o-ok. What time?"

"Uhhh. 1:30?"

"That's in ten minutes."

"Yes..."

"And it's a 8 minute walk."

"Yes."

"And you gave me lunch ten minutes before."

"Yes."

"And you're only telling me now?"

"Uh-huh."

"... Sugu... Please be more organised." He devoured to bowl of veg and fruit in under a minute and then proceeded to tie his shoelaces grab his wallet his phone and his watch before rushing out the door while putting on his sweatshirt.

"Hey! Kirito-kun!" Kazuto gripped his phone close to his ear.

"Ah. Hey Asuna!"

"I did say to be here as fast as you could it's important!"

"Sugu told me literally 5 minutes ago."

"Ah. Please hurry!"

Kazuto was not expecting what Asuna had brought him along for.

~At the mall.

"So. Kirito-kun. This is incredibly important, your life hinges on this very decision." Kazuto gulped.

"This dress... Or this dress?" Kazuto gulped again. This wasn't as bad as the 'does this make me look fat?' Question but it was still a huge obsticle. Of he tried to avoid the question she would think she looked terrible in both. If he chose the wrong one she would think she looked bad in the one Kazuto chose, lowering her self esteem. He had to choose carefully, using what he knew of women and fashion.

"Uhhh. The yellow one?"

Time stopped.

"Ok! Test over! You passed. You were under so much pressure!"

"You...You meanie..."

"Haha! Now. The real reason I brought you here was so we could get you some clothes that aren't black." Asuna winked.

"Ugh. Really? Black suits me."

"So will dark blue... Or red!"

"I will never wear red or white again."

"You looked good in the K.O.B uniform!"

"It was horrible."

"Whatever. Let's go!" Asuna pulled him into his personal hell. Well, it was bearable because He was with Asuna.

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**A/N: I used this chapter to gently pull away from Sugou's appearance. I didn't want to be tied down by it, so the result was a fluffy bit of nonsense with a wine scene that made no sense. Seriously, why did I put that there? I guess it was just because that's what I imagined when I thought of an expensive Italian restaurant. Review and or pm please!**


	16. Black, White and Red

**A/N: Hey, back again. Nothing to report! Keep reviewing and PMing! It's so exciting when I get an email and it says 'new review for...' Keep em coming!**

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Chapter 16

"Aw, come on Asuna. Anything but white."

"It'll look good on you! Go try it on!"

"Humph. Fine." He swiftly entered the changing room and looked at himself in the mirror, savouring his last look at his favoured black clothing. The wool jumper was woven a bright white, it had a small red sword on the front travelling across horizontally.

"Really?" After his sarcastic comment, he revealed himself.

"Yup. You look great!"

"Please...Not white..."

"What're you saying? Do I not look pretty right now?" Her entire attire was white, including her new boots Kazuto had just emptied his wallet on. Her soft scarf she made herself almost identical to Kazuto's, her long coat that pung from her arm and her T-shirt with a green kitten on the front.

"You look perfect in white. I look a mess."

"Fine... We're getting the red hat then!"

"Ugh... You win. Let's get them both if you must."

"Yay! Don't worry only a couple more hours!" Asuna jumped and fist pumped

"Hours!?"

"Yes... Hours."

"Kill me..."

~After Kazuto's personal hell, walking through a park.

"Hey, Hun."

"Yes?"

"Look over there." Kazuto had got used to calling Asuna Hun. He liked it, it gave him a feeling of possession for some reason. Also, honey was sweet like Asuna.

"Yeah. There are some kids playing, what about it Kirito-kun?"

"I wish Yui could be there. Imagine it. We'd sit on that bench there, sharing a bento, watching our little Yui run about and play with the other kids."

"Y-yeah... I-I wish for that too Kirito-kun." Asuna had tears clinging to the corners of her eyes, which she quickly wiped away before Kazuto could see.

"That's why I'm going to get a degree in virtual world programming and in A.I technology. Someday, that dream will be true Asuna I promise."

"You don't have to promise me Kirito-kun. I know you'll try your absolute best." She stole a small kiss from his lips.

"So... I don't have anything planned. Do you want me to walk you home?"

"N-no...I want to stay with Kirito-kuntonight... If that's ok..."

"Th-thats fine by me..." I few seconds of silence...

"I going to make you wear that red hat to school tomorrow!"

"N-No!"

"U-huh! Unless you can catch me!" Asuna dropped Kazuto's hand and ran off leaving a split second for Kazuto to think before having to run after her.

"Uwaah! Wait up!"

"The Lightning flash can't stop!"

"Argh!" Kazuto ran at his fastest, no way, not even for his girlfriend, was he wearing that hat to school.

"GOTCHA! Kazuto tumbled over her rolling off the hill they just ran up, they rolled over and over because of the momentum Kazuto had put into his leap/tackle.

"No fair! Kirito-kun jumped on me!"

"And now I'm on top." Before Asuna could register the meaning behind his words she fell into his deep kiss, her mind faltered and like every time before, The world turned black.

They rolled around kissing playfully, stoking one another's hair and tugging at their shoulders. It gradually became less and less playful, and more and more intimate. This was where Asuna would falter, this, normally, was as intimate as she could go, but she stayed, she savoured the taste of this lips, the roughness of his hair. She pushed him off and rolled on top still not breaking contact.

"I love you Asuna. I just haven't been able to express it these past weeks."

"I love you too Kirito-kun, you don't need to worry, I'm always here."

~Back in Kazuto's house. (Start inside ALO.)

"No! Recon, For Hecks sake. Stop. We need to rally our forces, the reason we could do it last time was because of the joint effort between the cait-sith and the sylph and Kazu-Kirito."

"But I believe you can do it Lyfa-chan! If Kirito can break through you can!"

"And if I get hurt?"

"We-well..."

"Exactly. ...Wait...Is it 6:00?"

"Yup. Why?"

"Shiz. My brother has been standing outside for the past 30minutes. See ya!"

"B-bye..." Recon was left standing alone outside the world tree as each particle of Lyra's existence, floated away.

"Hey... Onii-chan... And Giri no ane! (sister in law)

"Wha-What!? We're not married... Yet..." Asuna said the last word under her breath.

"You owe us a slight apology Sugu."

"I know I know...Sorry. I was with Recon and-"

"Nah, I'm kidding, Go back online. We'll be downstairs." Kazuto practically dragged Asuna into the living room.

"Well. Ok then." Sugu stood there quite shocked.

~Soon after.

"I've been wanting to show you something in paradise."

"Ooh! What is it?"

"You'll see. Put your nerve gear on."

"O-ok." Link start. Those word were becoming more and more familiar.

~Inside Paradise.

"So. Grab your Lambient light from the wall."

"But there's no inventory..."

"There is now." Kazuto grinned.

"Wow... We can use our beloved swords again..."

"Yup. Your beautiful."

"Thanks Kirito-kun, you'll make me blush"

"I was talking to the elucidator, but you too."

"Why you little..."

"Mama! Papa!" Yui ran into the room with her arms held outwards.

"Hey Yui. You've been having fun?"

"Yes Mama! The old fisherman NPC Papa made is really kind! He made lemon drizzle cake for me! Also I've been playing with the animals around here, especially the cats and horses! They're all nice. The turtle too! He's funny."

"Lovely Yui. I'm glad your not lonely. How does an NPC daycare sound?"

"With all the children!?"

"Of course!"

"Yes! Yes! Please Papa! Please!"

"I'll be as quick as I can." Asuna loved Kazuto for the little surprises he liked to pull on Yui, He had pretty much finished his daycare for her, but her look of astonishment because of how quickly he had finished it would out-way the difficulty keeping it a secret.

"So. Yui, Could you give me and Mama a few minutes? We just want to test something out."

"Hmm. Come back soon!"

"Of course Yui." Asuna pressed her lips to her for head and took off hand in hand with Kazuto.

"Ah. The weight in this sword...The feel. The blackness." Kazuto loved having his beloved sword back in his hand.

"Is blackness even a word?"

"It is now." Kazuto grinned while Asuna giggled, pressing her hand to her mouth.

"Where are we going?"

"The dojo, in the middle of the old NPC village."

"Don't tell me you've been able to make sword skills."

"Check your skills menu."

It was all there. Her skill set just before the battle with Kayaba. Even basic skills like vertical square.

"It's...It's all... Thank you Kirito-kun." Asuna hugged him tightly,

"Hey, we're still flying, also, Mother Rosario won't appear for a while. I've had trouble putting in custom sword skills. Especially an 11 hit combo."

"You don't have to put that in. You've done plenty."

"I want Yukki to be a part of this world to. I want to do it. For you and for me."

"You're to good to us."

"I'm not nearly good enough for you Asuna."

"Dawww." Asuna placed a small peck on his cheek.

~The dojo.

"So Asuna. You ready to see if you can beat the black swordsman?"

"Think? I know."

"Overconfidence can be fatal in this game."

"So can underestimates."

"Two Shay." Asuna leapt first barrel rolling towards him with her sword held directly towards, Kazuto leapt to the side and ducked under he next horizontal swipe, creating a short window which he used to slash at her side.

"Ah. Damn. Stop holding back Kirito, you could've taken down more health than that." She looked at the blinking green health bar. 200 Hp was taken from that hit, leaving her with 98,800 Hp.

"Come on, I can't just win instantly. That wouldn't be any fun."

"Cocky son of a-!" Asuna ran forward at full speed switching into her 6-hit combo. The green and blue flashes filled the room, clash after clash of swords, Kazuto had used three of his swords skills, and they were all the weakest. However, he knew Asuna wasn't trying her best either and so didn't have any intention to use his higher powered attacks. Such as starburst stream.

"Come on Asuna. Let's have a real match, give it all you got."

"I can't do that. I might hurt my Kirito-kun."

"Well... Imagine I'm gleam eyes."

"Really. That's your attempt at getting me to go full out."

"I don't want to say anything worse. You'll go berserk."

"Are you hinting at Sugo-?"

"Noooo." Kazuto's voice was extremely unconvincing.

"You'll pay for that!" She charged forward activating her best skill, other than mother Rosario, a 9 hit combo. The rush of adrenaline gained from dodging this attack gave Kazuto the space he needed to attack back, but he left himself open. Fully expecting Asuna to leap into this chance he prepared for the final swipe.

"Oh come on Kirito. That's low." Kazuto slowly blinked his eyes open, Asuna stood before him her guard lowered.

"What's low?"

"Letting me win. Fight back you dummy."

"I did!"

"You gave me an opening."

"...Fine. But don't say I didn't warn ya."

"You are way too cocky."

Another clash of green and blue, this time the fury of both parties had been unleashed, sending sparks everywhere. Kazuto activated star stream burst, at the same time Asuna activated her defensive sword skill, deflect. She slammed each swing into the opposite direction, parrying all 16 attacks. Both had to wait for their 2second cool down timer.

"That was fast."

"Yup...I can't begin to think about how I managed to deflect them all."

"U-huh...We should let Yui watch us next time. I can already imagine her screaming encouragement..

"Oh, by the way. The cool down timers up."

Not giving Asuna a second to think, Kazuto lunged forwards catching Asuna's side as she leapt swiftly to the side.

"Cheater!" Her worn HP hit the yellow zone.

"Not really. Just quick witted."

"Humph."

"Come on. Let's go see Yui."

"Other than your cheating finale, I really enjoyed today Kirito-kun, Thank you. She gave him the final peck that day.

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**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed! The mother Rosario references were put there because that book was a side story, and felt that maybe it could fit with this story. If it doesn't fit I'm sorry, but I thought it might be nice. Please review and Pm with your continued support! 16 Chapters already! In the space of 2 months...ish.**


	17. Misunderstandings and Squabbles

**A/N: Chapter 17 flying into yo face at 100mph!...Or you can just read it... either is fine.**

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Chapter 17

"Mm. Mm. Ah..." Low moans swept through Kazuto's house and a confused Sugu decided to check it out. The moans got louder every step she took towards his room, she had horrible thoughts about what could be going on. She quickly discarded them as the single image she was given scarred her mentally, forever.

Trembling she slowly turned the door knob. She burst into the room, one hand over her eyes.

"Sugu? What are you doing?" Asuna asked delicately.

"You're doing something dirty! Stop it! You're not alone yet!" She shrieked.

The couple furiously blushed.

"No...I'm having a massage. Asuna is amazing at them by the way." Sugu slowly lifted her fingers away from her face although the sight she saw next was enough to make her face become a cherry.

"Uwaaah!" Sugu stumbled back and tripped over something protruding from Kazuto's desk.

Asuna's hand rested on Kazuto's bare shoulders, she knelt on both knees overtaking him in height. Kazuto was completely topless, he shoulders looked relaxed and his expression one of bliss. Sugu had ruined a playful, but intimate moment.

"Ah...S-Sorry. I thought you were doing something else, I'll be going."

"Haha...Errm. Ok."

The door slammed shut. Sugu exhaled sharply. Kazuto finished blushing. Asuna buried her face behind her hair.

~Earlier that day.

"My shoulders are killing me. I really need to stop hunching over my desk." Kazuto sighed, he held Asuna's hand as they walked from school.

"Don't you lie down when on a VRmmo?"Asuna squeezed his hand.

"Normally. But lately I've been working so hard on new coding for Paradise and school work I've literally finished on my computer and shoved my nerve gear on as quickly as I could." Clumsy actions were a characteristic of Kazuto.

"Dummy. Why don't I...Why don't I give you a massage."

The idea never struck Kazuto, he was startled quickly before grasping control.

"Nah... I'll be ok... Unless you want to... I don't mind-"

"I want to! I'll come over to your house tonight. 6:30. Sharp."

"Yes, Miss Yukki."

"I should slap you for that."

"You won't, you love me too much." His red, painful cheek said otherwise.

~Back to the present.

"Sorry onii chan and Asuna. For barging in." Kazuto had a rugged school shirt on, his top button undone. Probably Asuna's doing.

"It's fine. Just knock, ok? Next time we might be doing something like that." Kazuto grinned and winked at Asuna,

"Idiot!" He managed to earn his second slap that day.

"Anyway..." Sugu said, changing the subject. "I was wondering your opinion on something Asuna." Oh good lord. Kazuto had gone and gotten himself into girl gossip. He was pleasantly surprised when Sugu said,

"I want to level up my Magic and sword skills up fast without dueling too many players. Should I attack a few high level players? Or lots of same level players, or even hunt some mobs?"

Kazuto opened his mouth to speak, High level play-

"Same level." Asuna's voice cut into his thoughts.

"Wait, what? High level players give you more skill points Asuna..."

"Yes but, not everyone is like you. Reckless, charging headfirst into battles where you're out levelled."

"Ahem. Swords first."

"Whatever."

"O-ok you two. What about mobs." Sugu butted in, trying to prevent an argument.

"They're better for XP than skills." Kazuto and Asuna said in unison.

"Ok. I'm gonna go play with recon for a bit then. See you two later!"

"See ya." Kazuto mumbled, his awesome massage suddenly ruined.

"T-that was kind of awkward." Asuna blurted,

"What was?"

"The whole massage thingy."

"Nah... Don't worry about it. Besides, It's my turn." Kazuto cracked his fingers,

"N-No! I'm fine! Honest!"

"Well how can I repay you?"

"...Well...I-" Asuna looked down to hide her blush, She suddenly squeaked when she felt her waist being dragged toward Kazuto, she closed her eyes as their lips met, his warm embrace enveloping her.

~The dicey cafe.

"Top me up Agil! It's the weekend!"

Klein laughed with his friend. Agil had set up small TVs around the cafe/bar, to watch football and vrmmo news and other TV shows he and his friends liked.

"Alright. But don't overdo it." His glass filled with more spirits.

"Hey guys." Kazuto walked in, his feet trudging from the wet rain.

"Heya. Long time no see."

"This time, that phrase actually makes sense, Klein."

"What's your thirst tonight Kirito?" Agil asked searching through his fridge of Soda.

"Lemon Soda please. Lime." Klein downed his last bit of spirit. He quickly broke the ice,

"So...What new Vrgames are out?" Kazuto asked,

"Umm. There's over light. That's that action park our style one. There are two new horror games, bent shadow and torn castle. But they look terrible compared to that one you played with Asuna. Maybe you should try a Vr horror game with her again?"

"It was difficult enough to get her to try the first." He huffed,

"Uh-huh."

"Are you enjoying the stealth Vr game me and Asuna bought you?"

"Love it, I'm nearing the end, I just don't have a lot of time to play it. Work and ALO and stuff."

"Of course." Kazuto huffed.

"Awww, I wish I wasn't so busy! Then I could see you and Asuna snog each other's face off!."

"I never did anything of the sort!"

"Then explain this." Klein pulled up a video on his phone, the format was that of recordings set inside Virtual reality. The video played, Klein was sat in a tree on the 22nd floor, recording the balcony of Kazuto and Asuna's house. Shortly they walked outside, hand in hand. The began to kiss, then to deepen, then-

"I hate you sometimes..."

"No need to get so stressy."

"Whatever... Wait...Why were you hiding there in the first place?"

"Umm, Uhhh."

"You are a huge imbecile."

"No need to use the big words..."

"Calm down you two, Vr news is on." Agil hushed and turned their attention to the screen.

The trailer being played was one of a Vrmmo. Flow. The idea, was that you played as a sprinter. A network of criminals, set in a world where people acted like drones, all exactly the same. The way they got around this futuristic world ruled by oppressive nations and suits, was parkour. The player learn the basics in the tutorial and then the system helped the rest of the way.

"Hey...That looks kinda fun. We should give it a go!" Klein enthusiastically voiced.

"What about ALO?"

"We can play two games at once..."

"You apparently can't."

"Meanie. I'll get us both a copy when it comes out. July, was it?"

"Yup. Roughly speaking it should be out in 50 days. Or something like 55. Anywhere between 50 and 60 days really."

"Alright. It's settled."

Agil spoke up, "I think I'm too big for that type of game."

"Nah! Come on Mr big guy!"

"I'll give it a go. But I think I'll probably just fall off the building, not run on it."

Kazuto laughed.

~Paradise.

Kazuto was in his garden, practising his swords skills, well that was what he had told Asuna. Really, he just wanted to hold his beloved Elucidator again, he wanted to feel it's weight, Stare at It's shiny surface and slice the air with it's incredibly sharp edges.

"Kyyyy-ah!" The small insect split in two and dropped into the grass.

"That was accurate. I'm getting used to you again, old girl." He patted the Elucidator's smooth surface and slid it into his sheath.

"Kirito-kun! Dinner!" Asuna shouted from inside the house. As Kazuto stepped in, he got an unexpected peck on the cheek.

"What was that for Hun?"

"Do I need a reason to kiss you?"

"Of course not." He kissed her back on the lips briefly, before making his way to the dining table. Asuna sat down across from him, Yui sat next to Asuna.

"Why Doesn't Yui sit on my side?" Kazuto inquired,

"Because Mama is better, isn't she?" Asuna grinned as she teased,

"Papa can destroy a tree full of guardians 50 levels higher, I'm better, aren't I Yui?" Kazuto's counter tease was hilarious, according to himself.

"I saved Papa on the 62nd floor, against that duel wielding field boss, didn't I!

"He was OP."

"So were you."

"He caught me by surprise."

"Your reaction time was quick enough."

"I wasn't at the top of my game."

"You weren't. That's for sure." Asuna laughed at Kazuto's cherry red face. He hated the scene of his butt being kicked by that field boss.

"I sat with Papa last time. So I'll sit with Mama this time! Next time, I'll sit with Papa again!" Yui innocently smiled, her head tilted to one side,

"Humph." Kazuto growled as he picked up his utensils.

"Is Klein coming to the barbecue tonight?"

"I think so. Unless some work came up." Asuna and Kazuto had planned a barbecue at their house for the next week. There wasn't a specific reason, it was simply a get together. Of course, before, Paradise had been an offline programme stored on Kazuto's computer, Kazuto had a server plugged into his computer that stored paradise. It was also so Asuna could come to Paradise from home. He simply sent invites with the pass code to his server to his friends.

"Agil?"

"Defiantly. Lisbeth, Silica and Sugu are coming too."

"Great. Are you excited Yui-chan?" Asuna asked,

"Of course Mama! I can't wait to see aunt Leafa again!"

"Hehe. Aunt Leafa made a mistake this morning, -"

"Shut up." Asuna narrowed her stare,

"She walked into my room just as -"

"Kaz-u-to. Stop" Her face was now cherry red.

"Ok. But only because of the way you said Kazuto."

"Gosh... You're difficult at times."

~Asuna's house.

"Asuna! Come at once!" Asuna's mother shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

"Coming!" For four five six... What was the rant about this time? Suitors? Breaking up with Kazuto? Yui?

"Your father and I are going out for the week.-" Yes! Yes! Alone time with Kazuto!

"However-" Oh no...

"You'll be staying at your friends. Rika. I don't trust you not to invite that boy, Kazuto around. Nor do I want you to be staying at his. He is not worth a lady of your stature. We are not going to argue at this moment, as it will end in tears and I doubt you'll break up with him because I said so. Because of this, you will be staying at Rika's house. Her parents have been notified to not let you out of the house or let Kazuto in. The end."

"But-But-Bu-"

"No. Now run along, pack your bags."

Asuna grunted as she stuffed her bags with clothing and other such items. A week without Kazuto? It wasn't quite hell, as she was with Rika. But still... No Kazuto, no hero, no one to kiss at night. Depressing. She thought. She put her amusphere in her rucksack and a copy of ALO. She also put her three favourite rom-coms in there. If she wasn't watching them with Kazuto over the weekend, she'd have to settle with Rika. She prepared for a long, but nostalgic week. She hadn't stayed with Rika overnight for years. It could be fun, she thought.

Kazuto sent the email with the pass code. "I can't wait to spend time with you Asuna." He was shocked, when he got a text explaining the situation.

"Great..." Another weekend stolen. Third in a row.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please review and or Pm me! The reviews make me write more, But thanks for the support so far! Never thought my little fanfic would make it this far!**


	18. Suitor

**A/N: That ending last time will be explained! Promise! This one isn't that fluffy, but stay with me!**

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Chapter 18

Weekends had been boring for Kazuto for three weeks. He hadn't had any weekends to himself and Asuna because of a clamp down her parents had begun. Since three weeks ago, after the Sugou incident, Asuna's parents hadn't let anyone in the house, of course, including Kazuto. It's not that they didn't like him, if anything they had warmed up to him since that matter, it's just a Quote "Phase" to get over the matter. Normally, this was what happened when she had a new suitor, Kazuto wouldn't be able to see her out of school for weeks, then she would be told about her new suitor. Of course, every time Asuna had said no, then, after a month or two, the whole charade started again.

"Again?"

"I'm sorry... I really wanted to be with you this weekend." Asuna said quietly.

"It's ok.. It's not your fault. I'll come over to Lisbeth's for a bit!"

"You're not allowed..."

"Oh come on..." Kazuto was never rude or disappointed on the phone to Asuna, but he hadn't been able to see her alone for ages. He wished she was at least allowed online, but her parents had locked up her nerve gear in their drawers.

"I'm sorry..."

"Stop saying that. I'll find a way. Don't worry!" Kazuto grinned.

~ Lisbeth's house. (Rika)

"Hey! Asuna!" Rika enveloped her friend in a huge hug, to which Asuna quickly returned. She wheeled her suitcase in and stood in the hallway for a second.

"It feels like forever since I've been here." Asuna said,

"Nah! Come on! You were only here just before Sao! No time at all!"

"That's two years!"

"Exactly! No time at all!" Rika Grinned marvellously as she led her childhood friend through to her room.

The second the door was closed, Rika's face turned from playful, grinning and childish, to grumpy and serious.

"L-lisbeth! What's wrong!"

"It's your parents Asuna. I feel sorry for that boyfriend of yours. Now obviously it's not your fault and all but you have to speak with them, you probably already have, however. We need to have you back in ALO on a weekend since Kleins never free on weekdays and Kazuto wants to hang out at yours when he's free, which normally, is on a weekend. I'll help you, Klein'll help you, Kirito'll help you. They've gone a little too far with this one and I think I know why."

"..."

"They've probably planned a new suitor."

"That's a surprise." Asuna said in her mostly unused sarcastic voice. Asuna suddenly shivered,  
A sudden jolt attacked Asuna, she soon realised it was a text message sent to her phone. She quickly whipped it out.

Mom- This is your newest suitor. He will protect you. Unlike that Kazuto boy. He only barely saved you last time!

Asuna was frozen in fear, not from the text itself, but of the picture of the suitor.

"...He-he-he has a laughing coffin tattoo!" Asuna screamed,

"WHAT!? We-we've gotta let your Mom know what these men did! He killed people in Sao!" Rika began to panic,

"I'm ringing Kirito-kun. He has to know too." Asuna's voice shaked.

~ The dicey cafe.

"Third time eh?" Agil said from behind then bar.

"Yup. It's depressing." Kazuto sank his head onto his forearm.

"Come on man, We've got time to spend together now." Klein joked,

"No offence, and I'm pretty sure you knew this, but Asuna is the priority."

"I know. But... I'm the secondary!...Right?"

"Nah. Sugu...Then Agil...Then Lisbeth...Then Silica..."

"I get it..."

"I was joking. You're third priority. Sugu second."

"Course... Wanna head back to my place then? We could play some old games from my childhood! Like... What was that... Ummm, Ah! Mario!"

"Wasn't that out in the beginning of video games? That's way older than you man..."

"I meant the newest ones, ones I used to play on the nintendo."

"That's eight years old... Jesus."

"And I still have one!" Klein smiled as Kazuto sighed and turned away.

"Alright then. I'll finish up my soda." He gulped down the last few drops and left the money he owed on the bar.

He stepped into the fresh morning air and sighed.

"I'm not that bad." Klein joked,

"I- *sigh* I miss when I would step out of this place knowing Asuna was waiting for me as soon as I picked her up."

"You're saying that like it has been years since that happened."

"It feels like years."

"Spoiled. That's what you are. Spoiled with love."

"Maybe so..."

"Let's get going then, shall we?"

"Ah... Sure."

"You owe me a potion in ALO every time you sigh from now on."

"You'll be swimming in them."

"I know!" The couple laughed and walked towards Klein's apartment.

~Klein's apartment.

"Welcome, to my humble abode."

"Eww... How many weeks old is that pizza?"

"It isn't weeks old, it was my pizza from the begging of Sao... So many memories!"

"You are disgusting."

"I'm kidding. Yeah, it's a couple weeks old."

"Still kinda gross."

"I know." Klein looked down and scratched his neck.

Kazuto's phone began to ring, his ringtone being that of Asuna singing karaoke.

"Dawww. She's even on your ringtone!"

"Shhh."

Kazuto answered, Asuna was on the other end and began to explain the situation.

"We have to tell your parents Asuna, for now, make sure you don't go anywhere near him. I'll be right over."

'No! You can't come over, Lisbeth's parents won't let you in!"

"I'll sneak in the window like I used to at your house."

"N-"

"That wasn't a question."

"F-fine. Be careful...Honey."

Kazuto grinned at her comment, "Love you, sunshine."

He clicked end.

"I think I'm going to cry..." Klein said sniffing in the background.

"Shut up..."

"Be careful honey..." Klein said in his damsel in distress voice, "Love you, Sunshine," He said in his most Kazuto like voice he could muster.

"Whatever. Ummm. Sorry, Asuna is in a bit of a dilemma."

"Of course. Dang. What's up?"

"Her newest, 'Suitor' Is a laughing coffin member. Maybe this time I can finally being a beat down on one of those self absorbed, uptight, son of a-"

"I get the Idea. Maybe some other time?"

"Of course." Kazuto burst out the door, heading towards Rika's house.

Kazuto's memory jolted from the mention of the laughing coffin, he remembered PoH, the feared leader of the guild, he remembered Kuradeel, the one who almost killed his beloved, but worst of all, he remembered the crusade. The crusade in which he killed two laughing coffin members. The crusade in which dozens of people were killed. He shivered. He then kicked the thoughts out of his mind. He focused on stopping this man before any harm could be done, especially to Asuna.

~Rika's house.

"He's visiting? Today! In less than an hour!" Asuna spoke, her lips trembling,

"Oh no... We're home alone, a laughing coffin member is coming around to my house and Kazuto's rushing in to a death trap. Is there anything worse?!"

"Shhh! You'll jinx us!"

"Oh yeah. Whoops."

"Alright, think. What was your martial arts skill in Sao?"

"Hah. Like that's gonna help. Even if we could reproduce some of the moves, he would know them too, since he's a Sao player."

"Yeah you're right..."

"Just act normal. Maybe he wants to go on a date with you before he kills us? Maybe he doesn't want to kill us?"

"Most of the laughing coffin members promised to kill me and Kirito if they ever saw us. That's highly unlikely."

"Well. How far away is Kirito?"

"I don't know."

"Great."

"So."

"Four different ways this is going to happen. One. Kirito makes it on time and kicks this guy's butt. Two. He finds us and we use some kind of strategy to escape. Three. This guy doesn't know we know about him being in the guild and geniuenly wants to go out with you.  
Finally. None of those work and we die or get hurt very badly."

"So. Which is the most likely?"

"One, or two. Although four is more likely than three."

"Ok..." The doorbell rang.

"I'll, um, I'll go check who it is." Rika stood up and walked towards the door.

The door opened to a skinny and lean man. His eyes twisted and contorted with horror and his hands trembled.

"Can I help you?" Rika said in the most innocent fashion possible.

"You could help me find Asuna. Lisbeth." He knew her name. Not her name, her Sao name. This was him. He had arrived before Kazuto, which was to be expected, he couldn't be there all the time. But Rika froze in front of this man.

"D-dreadger?!" Rika trembled in place,

"Ah. So you do remember me."

~Flashback to Sao.

"Kyyyaaaa!"

Lisbeth slay her fiftieth monster on the thirtieth floor that day, the col started to pile up, soon she would have enough to upgrade the quality of her blacksmith shop and produce better swords. Five floors ago, the dreaded battle of the twenty fifth floor took place, more fatalities took place than any floors underneath. To make matters worse, a PK guild had formed, killing countless more players.

She decided that would be enough and walked back home through the lush forest.

"NOW!" Lisbeth jumped back drawing her hand axes from the sheaths on her back.

"Uooooooh!" The ambushers jumped down from trees and pinned Lisbeth to the ground.

"Gah! Wh-Who are you!?"

"We...Are ...The...Laughing Guild." The man spoke through some kind of respiratory system, the idea was most likely to intimidate, not to help him breath.

"Y-I'll Kill all of you!"

"I don't think so. You seem to be pretty stuck there miss." A second figure approached, with an evil glint in his eye. He wore a cannibal mask and a long camp coat. The third figure hiding behind looked like any other Sao player. Light armour, sword sheath strapped to waist and a secure pouch on his belt containing his crystals. The second figure unsheathed his sword and held it to her throat.

"Hmmm. Maybe we shouldn't kill this one?" Said the third, stopping the one wearing the cannibal mask.

"Why not?" The second figure asked,

"Because if we cause enough pain we can use her." The third continued,

"Hmm...Clever..." The first figure agreed.

That day was the worst Lisbeth could imagine. She couldn't be hurt physically in game, but emotional pain was entirely possible.

She was forced to watch as dozens of unfortunate victims were slaughtered in front of her eyes, just to send a message. They used her to force raid parties out into ambush spots for information on their positions. Once they had finally finished with her, the memories stuck with her through the whole of Sao. She never told anyone, not even Asuna.

~Present

"Y-you!" The man before her was the exact one she had seen in game. He was the one with the light armour, the one who came up with the Idea of torturing her, of killing all those people.

"Hi. Move out the way, I finished with you years ago." He tried to push her out of the way, Rika's feet stopped shaking, she thought about this parasite attacking her friend, her hand moved, her fingers poised, she cut off Dreadger's air supply.

"Gack... Why you!" He attempted a back hand, Rika ducked once, she grabbed his outstretched arm and threw him into the stairs.

"I'll make sure you pay for that. Girl."

He jumped back up and threw a punch to her gut, she curled over and received an uppercut to the chin. She fell back, grunting.

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**A/N: Sorry if the quality has gone down in this chap. This idea has been boiled up inside me for a few weeks (a suitor being a laughing coffin member) but I had difficulty portraying it. I also had trouble finding a way to get Lisbeth or 'Rika' in this episode more emotionally involved. I hope this is to your liking since it was my best Idea. Also! Special Halloween update on Thurs! Don't miss it! Tell me if you want it uploaded as a new one-shot Halloween story for Asuna and Kazuto, or if you want it uploaded onto this story here. Either way it will be out on Thurs! Thanks! Please review or Pm!**


	19. Halloween special!

**A/N: Special Halloween one-shot for my favourite couple! Hope you like! (2013 for those reading in the future. If anyone does...) Special message at end.**

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Dicey cafe extravaganza and cookies.

Asuna exited the house using the front door. She wore a no sleeved black dress stopping at her knees, long black gloves covering her hands to her elbows, black boots and a witches hat to top it off.

She skipped happily towards the dicey cafe, where all of her friends and her boyfriend had planned to meet. Agil had called it his Halloween scare-fest extravaganza! Although that was exaggerating it a bit. There was just going to be special drinks. Asuna adjusted her hat before knocking on the oak door, only to receive no answer. She cautiously broke all the horror movie rules and opened the creaky door, the bell that rang made her jump, but she swallowed her fear and stepped in the dark.

"RAAAAGH!" Everyone screamed as the door slammed behind her, Asuna screamed and gave someone dressed as a werewolf a boot to the crotch while lashing out.

"I...Guess...I...Kinda...Deserved...Nope..This is too painful, even for that face, I'll go...Lie down for a bit." the werewolf hobbled away from the still shocked Asuna. The lights flicked on revealing all her friends and the hobbling werewolf.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" She ran after him and turned him to face her "Kirito-kun?! I'm so sorry!" She sat down with him on a bar stool. Her friends laughed, after realising what had happened in the dark. Agil passed Kazuto an ice pack.

"You should know not to scare me! Humph." Asuna crossed her arms.

"S-sorry. It is Halloween though..."

"I know! But I lash out when I get scared...Sorry."

"It's fine! It's not like you haven't' been there before."

"I never kicked you in the crotch bef-" Asuna's cheeks flushed red, "Why you!"

Kazuto quickly put his arms up in defence, moving the ice pack in the process, making the pain return with a vengeance. "Sorry! Joking joking!" He moved his ice pack back into place.

Asuna vented, "Hmmm. Fine. You look dashing by the way."

"Thanks. I think. Since when do you say words like dashing?"

"Umm. I don't know, I just said before I thought. I look terrible in this, I don't even look ugly."

"That's impossible. How can anyone make you ugly?"

"St-stop. You'll make me blush."

"I love you you know, you're so adorable."

"That's the reason you love me? Because I'm adorable?"

"There's a never ending list of reasons."

"Daww. Are you going to be ok?"

"Yup. Why don't you go and talk to some people, I'll join you in a sec. Sugu is sitting out like usual, why don't you try to get her to join in?" Kazuto suggested.

"Trying to get rid of me already? Are you gonna be alright? "

"I'm not trying to get rid of you. I'm fine."

"I'll be right back ok?"

"Ok." Asuna narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue before rushing off into the party.

"So." The deep voice was owned by Agil, the tall, African american, bartender. "Maybe scaring Asuna wasn't the best Idea you've ever had. Hm?" He was wearing a Frankenstein costume. It suited him well.

"No. Not the best Idea. But defiantly not the worst either! Did you see the look on her face? Priceless."

"Haha. What's your worst Idea?"

"Driving away from death gun in GGO is pretty far up in the 'never want to do again because the idea is so bad' list."

"Ah. But what's highest?"

"When I didn't reveal my level to the black cats of the- Sorry. I don't really want to get into that."

"Of course. Sorry. Hey. Asuna and Sugu seem like good friends."

"Yeah. Who can resist Asuna's charm."

"I can."

"That's because you're not young anymore."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, You'd never fall for a girl like Asuna now... unless you're a pervert."

"I'm no pervert."

"Exactly. I meant as a friend however."

"Oh, right. Yeah. No on can." Agil finished cleaning his forth glass and moved it to the side.

"Do you just clean glasses all day buddy?" Klein stepped up to the bar.

"Pretty much."

"Ah. Hey Kirito! Well done at scaring Asuna!"

"Huge mistake." Kazuto grunted.

"Yup. Learn it well. I'm off, There's a really important meeting the boss is having with his employees in the morning, gotta rise up early. See ya!"

"You've only been her half an hour..."

"Shhh."

"Bye."

"I'll see you next week, you still coming to my birthday?"

"Of course!" Agil and Kazuto said in unison.

"Ah... So." Kazuto began. It was getting late into the party, with only a few members such as Rika and Keiko still there. "I was thinking maybe taking her back with me to my place, then trick or treating or some scary movies?"

"Possibly... Have you carved pumpkins?"

"Uh-huh."

"Haunted house?"

"Last year. She fainted.

"Right. What about... ... Ok. Trick or treating and scary movies sound great."

"Mm. That's because I came up with it."

"Right. It's nine by the way. When were you planning on going?"

"Soon-ish. I'll go get Asuna." Kazuto rose from the stool and gave Agil back the ice pack. He walked towards the group of his friends.

"And Kirito fell right into the mud!" Asuna said, causing laughter among her friends.

"Hey guys. Asuna... I think it's time to go." He winked.

"Oh, ok." She said goodbye to the people at the party and walked home with Kazuto.

~Outside, walking together.

"So. Asuna. Are we trick or treatingtonight? Or do you want to watch some scary movies... Or-"

"Trick or treating first. Kirito-kun knows I don't do too well with scary movies." She flicked his nose.

"Ah. Ok."

"Unless... Kirito-kun wants to... um, snuggle?"

Kazuto went bright red.

"Ah! Um, If you- If you wanted I wouldn't mind but trick or treating is fine, I'm fine either way..."

"Let's trick or treat first, then I'm coming back to your house!" She knocked his head with her knuckles.

"Ok." He quickly adjusted his costume and took his headpiece. out of his carrier bag that would soon be used to carry candy. "Rarrgh!" Kazuto shouted.

"Awww, Kirito-kun, that was cute. Not scary."

"That's fine with me."

"Oh, you." She attempted to peck his cheek, but met the soft fur of his werewolf headpiece,

"I don't recommend kissing fur Hun."

"Shut up. Look! That house has amazing pumpkins!" She dragged Kazuto off towards the house. Asuna was childish at times, but it was just another side of her for Kazuto to love.

"Trick or treat!" Asuna shouted at the door to the house.

After receiving the sweets awkwardly, Kazuto thanked the man and walked away with Asuna.

"I haven't trick or treated in years, Mum always said I was too old."

"Nah. If you like it, you should always be able to do it... If you're having fun, I am." Kazuto slapped his trademark goofy grin on his fave.

"Awww, Thanks sweetie." Asuna continued to drag him around houses for the best of an hour.

~Back at Kazuto's home

"Ahhh... Back home."

"Nice and warm eh? Or did you just want to be alone with me, Hm?"

"N-no I mean yes, I would like to be alone but no I don't mean it in that way and-" His face was glowing bright red.

"Shhh. I'll go make some cookies, you find a film suitable for Halloween. Nothing too scary, you know what I'm like." Asuna skipped off to the kitchen, holding her bag of ingredients she had brought with her. Kazuto emptied the sweets onto the table and searched through his set of movies. He had plenty of horror movies but decided to go with a horror/comedy/romance film. At least then if Asuna jumped she would laugh afterwards.

"Got one!"

"The cookies are almost finished! Give me a minute Hun!"

"Gah... This is agonising." The soft aroma of the baking cookies filled Kazuto's house,

Asuna quickly dressed the cookies with her icing and placed them on her tray. She picked up the tray, blowing the steam towards the living room, in which Kazuto was now sitting. She then proceeded towards the living room, tray in hand.

"Mmmmm. Soft, milky and crunchy edges... You're cooking skills are god-like." Kazuto contemplated,

"You- you really like flattering me don't you?"

"What boyfriend doesn't?"

"True..."

"The films starting, come sit here." He patted the space next to him on the sofa.

"Ok." She flattened her skirt and took a seat next to Kazuto, leaning her head on his shoulder and resting her hand on his chest,

"You heartbeat is rising..." Asuna said,

"Th-that's uhhh, Ahem, because the film is suspenseful."

"Brilliant excuse Mr inconspicuous."

"Shhhh." He hushed playfully poking her side with the arm wrapped around her shoulders.

The two watched the film happily, enjoying one another's company, Kazuto had specifically chosen a film that was scary enough to be considered a Halloween film but it was a comedy, for every time Asuna jumped, a laugh followed soon after. Kazuto focused more on his beautiful girlfriend than the TV, the way she smiled and laughed, the way her hair always seemed to fall perfectly onto her shoulders and the way her eyes shimmed brilliantly in the light. He sighed and turned his attention back to the film, only to curse loudly out of fear.

"Holy-" He looked quickly at his girlfriend giving him a very serious glare, "-Er, Cow?..."

"Kirito-kun shouldn't curse... Tut tut tut." She waved her finger,

"Ah sorry, It caught me off guard..." He scratched his head,

"It's ok. That wasn't that bad though, You weren't paying attention, were you?"

"I was. Just not at the TV."

"Pervert!"

"No! I was admiring you!" He quickly realised how bad that sounded.  
"A-ah, That's not what I meant!" Asuna quickly broke their contact and shuffled to the other side of the sofa.

"No cuddles for 15 minute. That is your penance."

"Bu-but! Fine..."

Asuna shuffled back 5 minutes later, she couldn't really give her boyfriend punishments because anything she could do, would punish her as well. For instance, no holding hands for half and hour, she would want to hold his hand just as much as he did.

They finished the movies and their cookies at almost exactly the same time.

"Yum. That by the way was the best Halloween I have ever experienced, it might have something to do with you, Asuna."

"It was my best Halloween too, thanks is to you Kirito-kun."

"Well... Do you have to go hometonight?"

"N-no... But it's school tomorrow... And I need my uniform..."

"What if I walked with you back to your house, and we pick up your stuff? Nah... It's ok... I'll just walk you home tonight."

"We could get up early in the morning!"

"Normally, I'd say no... But for you? Perhaps."

"Lazy Kirito-kun."

"Yup, lazy and proud."

"It's decided then. See you in the morning Hun."

"Love you, Asuna."

"Love you more Kirito-kun."

"That's not possible. Because I love you most."

"I love you more than most."

"You can- Oh. Clever. You can borrow one of my shirts to sleep in." They slept peacefully in Kazuto's room, Kazuto staying awake tens of minutes after she had fallen asleep. Her adored her, and this Halloween was the greatest, because he had friends, and a girlfriend. He smiled once more, before falling into slumber.

* * *

**A/N: GAHHHH SO LATE! Sorry guys, I got held up... I wanted this out on Thursday, I really did... Forgive me please? I'll make sure to have both a new life and a day in the life of chapters updated this week! thanks for understanding and thanks for the support! Oh! One more thing, Momoxtoshiro's Moments, one of my favourite FanFic is ending on chapter 60. Please check it out for me, And to her if she reads this ever, Thanks for such an amazing story! You are amazing! Thanks guys for the support and please review and Pm!**


	20. Guests

**A/N: Sorry guys, things have been holding me up lately, Family stuff. I promise to get back on track with a day in the life of, The Halloween special was late... :( Just bear with me! I'll catch up! I think this chap is on the border line of K+ -T**

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Chapter 19

Rika's eyes fluttered open, the constant thumping pain in the back of her head made itself known furiously, making Rika flinch. She sat up and felt pains under her chin and in her abodemen, the effects of his attacks. That jump started her, Him. She forgot her pain and scrambled to her feet, charging up the stairs as fast as she could. The door swung open to a horrible sight, Asuna lay on the floor, bleeding from her head and her nose, Kazuto stood in the middle ducking and weaving under attacks and throwing his own when an opening appeared.

"KAZUTO! LEFT!" He didn't ask questions, he side stepped just in time to miss a stab from his enemy's knife.

"I didn't want to use this baby. But you've been troublesome boy, don't worry, I'll make you death quick. Although your precious Asuna will be watching." He flipped his knife into a backhand position and fitted his teeth. Kazuto imagined him as he always imagined such evil people, as animals. If they were worse than animals, like Sugou, they were parasites. He had no objections to hurting an animal.

"Bring it. I've survived worse."

"I'm worse than Sugou boy. I'm ass dangerous as a skull reaper. One hit and your HP is gone." It took a second for Kazuto to register his words, ...one hit... HP. He's treating this like a game, maybe the knife has some form of poison laced in it.

"Poison laced knife? Cliche."

"Clever boy. Classics are the way to go... Now... DIE!" Kazuto shivered at the reminiscence of his previous battle, there was always someone, something wanting him and Asuna dead. He never got a chance.

He quickly dodged the knife and attacked his target's throat, cutting off his air supply, this left an opening and Kazuto disarmed his foe, throwing the knife downstairs. Finishing his foe off with a boot to his face, he called emergency services.

"Any more of your friends?" Kazuto asked, a hint of anger.

"I-I thought he was gone forever! I didn't know! It's not my fault!"

"I wasn't blaming you." Kazuto said, still cool headed. He still had a small amount of anger coursing through him but it was overruled by logic and understanding.

"Asuna. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine... Lisbeth, are you?"

"Physically..."

"Who were they?" Kazuto asked.

"They attacked me in Sao..." Rika began her story.

"... And I never saw them again..." Rika finished.

"There's two left out there, probably coming for you too. Stay with me for a few days, you too Asuna. I don't care what your parents say this time."

"O-ok..."

"Ok." Both affirmed.

"Come." He wrapped his arm around his girlfriends shoulder, supporting her weight and beckoned Rika.

~Kazuto's house.

"Sit here, I'll go get some hot chocolate." Kazuto gently sat Asuna on his sofa, leaving space for Rika.

Rika sat awkwardly, feeling guilt. She budged up to Asuna and moved her hair out of the way, the wound wasn't too serious but Kazuto would fuss over it until it healed. How she wished for a boyfriend that fussed over her as much.

"You'll find someone Lis..." Asuna snapped Rika from her thoughts.

"Ah... Haha, maybe. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Maybe a little faint, don't tell Kazuto that, he'll start checking on me every five minutes.

"Haha, ok. So much for a fun sleepover." Rika regretfully said.

"Some other time, ok? It's just bad luck, that's all."

"I'm so sorry... You've only just got over the... Other... incident." Rika sniffed,

"Shhh, It's not your fault, get some rest. I'll be fine."

Kazuto walked in with three hot chocolates on a tray, only to find Rika sleeping on a drowsy Asuna.

"Here honey..."

"Thanks." Asuna replied.

"I'll leave this here for when she wakes up... Damn laughing coffin... I'll find them. I'll stop them. Relieving that same battle, will be worth it for you."

"Don't you'll get killed."

"No, I won't. I'm learning martial arts with Sugu. I've started kendo again too. It's nothing against a gun but it's something..."

"We'll be fine, who knows if they're even coming?"

"They will, laughing coffin don't leave a job unfinished."

"But that was laughing coffin... These people are just murderers."

"They're still the same people... Just, stay here for a few days, promise me you'll stay safe?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Kazuto sat down next to Asuna and presented his shoulder, she leaned on him and soon fell asleep.

~Kazuto's house, hours later.

"Agil, just, watch out, ok?"

"Understood. Still haunting us even after Sao eh?"

"Yes. No escaping them, maybe after this, we can live peacefully?"

"Maybe. I'll see you later."

"Bye." Kazuto hung up.

"That's everyone. They no of the danger and they'll alert us on sighting off anything." Kazuto reassured.

"Ok..." Asuna said embracing Kazuto as tightly as she could, she had a bandage covering her left half of her head, including her left eye.

"I'll be fine. I'll finish this. For all of us." He pulled her gently into his chest and kissed her head.

"For now... For these few days we have... Promise me... Promise me you'll stay with me."

"I-" he began his sarcastic rebuttal, "Of course." He changed his sentence, sarcasm wasn't going to help right now.

They pretended to forget the entire thing, Rika slept in Kazuto's guest room, Asuna and Kazuto lay on Kazuto's bed, toying with one another's hair.

"One last battle, one last bad memoir of Sao." Kazuto said, tracing his fingers through her hair.

"Hmm, I hope so." She hummed softly at the feel of his fingers tracing her hair.

"I promise. We can focus on the good things that came from Sao... Like meeting you."

"Th- thanks Hun..."

"Get some rest, I'll still be here in the morning."

"Thank you... For everything." She yawned, and slept.

~Meanwhile, in the guest room.

"How I wish..." Rika gripped the empty side of her bed, She felt lonely, she wished to relive that moment in the dragon's hole, before she new he was dating her best friend. The time she thought she might actually have a chance at romance with someone. But no. Fate had been cruel enough to take that away too, by giving him Asuna, the perfect girl.

"*Sigh*. Now I've brought my burden on them. I'm a horrible friend."

She turned onto her back and stretched her hand towards the ceiling. She prepared for a restless night.

If only...

~Early morning.

Kazuto lazily opened his eyes. He looked around his room, light flooded in through the windows. Asuna must already be up, he thought. Cursing himself for not getting up before Asuna, he quickly dressed into his morning gown and headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Awww. She didn't have to." Lying on the table was a perfectly cooked egg, sausage and beans meal, the steam still rising off the top. He dived into his food, savouring every bite. Two empty plates were next to the sink, suggesting the other two had already had theirs. He smiled and continued his meal. He cleared away his plate once he had finished, popped the other two plates in the dishwasher and went upstairs for his shower. He stopped off in his bathroom and put his toothbrush and toothpaste in his mouth, grabbed a towel and stripped off. He then wrapped the towel around his waist and walked towards the main bathroom.

Kazuto opened the bathroom door an unexpected sight. Asuna was already in the shower, singing softly to herself. The steam hit him hard and he stumbled backwards.

"Kirito-kun!?" Asuna quickly moved the shower curtains to hide her body. Kazuto stood, eye and jaw wide open, he managed to gather his resolve and look the other way,trying to seem uninterested.

"A-Ah! Sorry."

"Could you not hear the shower?" Thinking about it, he probably did.

"Ah... I didn't think about it..." He tried to smile in a way that didn't seem perverted, failing in every aspect. A big goofy grin wasn't the best idea he had had.

"PERVERT!" She threw the foot mat at him and he fell to the floor, catching the mat in the process. This undid his towel, leaving him naked in the middle of the corridor. Of course, Rika had decided to come for a shower to at that exact moment.

"Kiri-!?" Rika quickly averted her eyes as Kazuto scrambled in the bathroom, wrapping his towel around his waist once again. Kazuto leaned around the corner.

"You. Didn't. See. Anything. Understood?" Rika nodded curtly.

"Ahem. Understood." She backed off downstairs and turned on the TV.

"Well, Asuna, there's only one thing to do. I'll have to shower with you." Kazuto prepared for the onslaught ahead.

"No way. Not happening. Nice attempt at seeing me... Clothe-less." She hated the word naked and nude. It made her feel insecure, for whatever reason.

"S-sorry..." Kazuto smiled sadly and excited the room. Asuna thought about it, her face glowing red, should she? She was 17 and he was 16. It wouldn't be weird... Would it? She sighed at her stupid decision that she knew she would regret instantly.

"K-Kirito!"

"Yes?"

"You can... Come in." Kazuto stepped back in, half expecting something flying into his face.

He cautiously stepped in. Wrapping his arms around the lower area of her back, he kissed her lips briefly.

"Thanks, Hun."

'I have a name."

"But you're my sweet Honey - Hun."

"You're flattery isn't going to make me less awkward." She kept her gaze above chest level.

"Ok. Here." Here applied the slippery shower gel to her back, then he applied the shampoo to her long flowing hair.

"This better not be a dream." Kazuto said.

"My life is a dream come true Kazuto. Even if this was a dream, I'd still be there in real life. Waiting for you to wake up. Sorry about this morning... I Normally stay in bed until you wake up but I wanted to think for a bit..."

"No problem Hun."

"I'm just so scared about this laughing coffin ordeal."

"I love you Asuna. That's stronger than any motive my opponent has. I'll fight to my last breath for you, they'll give up after a certain amount of beating."

"O-ok."

"Ok. Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine." He hugged her, tucking her head under his chin. The water trickled off their hair and down their body's, but the warmth was not from the shower.

Asuna flinched when she realised how close she was, and what she could feel on her lower half, but she didn't break away. He was hers and she was his. That was stronger than any revenge or vbengance scheme.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading, please review and or Pm! I think I went a little over K+ with sexual references, but they weren't graphic, I didn't mention any sexual organs or anything so I think it'll be fine. See ya next week! Your awesome reviews and constructive criticism keeps me going! And as I say every time... Wait for it... Wait for it... Thanks for the support!**


	21. Destruction

**A/N: Next chapter, Yay! I went a little too far with the shower scene... Didn't I. Don't worry, I'll do more intimate scenes like that if you want, but in a less... Lemony... Way... I couldn't find the right word. Lemony is fine! Without further a-due, Begin!**

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Chapter 20.

Kazuto cleared away the remaining plates. Yesterday he had fought with the laughing coffin suitor and bought Asuna and Rika here. Without permission from their parents. After all this is over, he thought, I'm going to be in a whole lot of trouble.

Kazuto's room was the cleanest it had ever been, what with Asuna staying over. She constantly insisted on helping out clean up or tidying rooms up. Kazuto just guessed she felt she had to since she was a guest. He had told her a number of times that was not the case, but once Asuna had her mind set on something she wouldn't back down.

The girls sat on the sofa downstairs chatting, giving Kazuto the perfect time to do some investigation before Asuna came up to worry over him. He opened his emails, checking for any suspicious ones that could be a duel of sorts. Nothing, no dates places or anything, just the usual spam. Sighing, he stood from his computer and decided to go check on Yui. He opened up paradise on his computer and plugged in his nerve gear.

"Link Start!" What came next was the most depressing and enraging thing Kazuto had ever faced.

~Meanwhile. Unknown location.

"What do you mean he failed?!" Shouted the shrouded figure.

"I saw it! Kirito! He beat him to a pulp!" A smaller figure said, wearing a dark red cloak, a laughing coffin tattoo etched into his arm.

"RAAAAGH!" The figure flipped a table, throwing it's contents onto the floor.

"We'll get him! We will! In fact, I've been digging through his recent games on his nerve gear and I've found something very dear to him." His evil tone was discomforting.

"That's something. Show me, I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile, Set up a game in Sao, leave the nerve gears for me, They'll be needing special preparation."

"Understood." And he left.

~Paradise.

Kazuto crumpled to his knees. The tears flowed down his face freely, looming at the devastation before him. Everything he had built for his family had been completely destroyed, the house burnt down before his very eyes, the lake he loved so much was completely dry and the forest and wild life was dead. Gone. He opened his back up saves, all corrupted, except for the save he was in now, obviously the person who did this wanted Kirito to see it.

"Papa!" Yui ran out from behind a rock crying her eyes out.

"Yui! You're safe, Thank god!" He embraced her tightly.

"Who did this Papa? Who?" Yui managed to speak through her wails.

"Laughing coffin." Kazuto said as coldly as he could muster in front of his child.

"Why?!"

"To break our mental state. I'm going to hurt them. A lot." He regretted saying that in front of his 3 year old daughter, but the reaction was one of agreement.

"Give them what they deserve Papa." It was at times like this he was reminded she was so much older than her body suggested.

Kazuto walked into his incinerated home and walked up the broken and cracked stairs, he strode into his room, hands balled into fists. His smashed the display case holding his and Asuna's swords. He saved them to his local nerve gear and kicked open his closet, doing the same to his Blackwyrm coat and Asuna's K.o.B uniform.

"Yui. Hide. I'll fix this."

He logged out and imported his weaponry into ALO. The Sao servers made anything that was originally in Sao available in ALO too.

Waking up in an angered state, he checked his nerve gear messages, then his ALO messages and finally, his seed emails.

"Ah." He found one in his seed emails. It read, 'Dear 'Kirito'. I believe you have met my colleague. Sorry about his rude behaviour. The devastation we just brought to your precious, 'Paradise', was a message. Meet me in ALO at 2:30 Sharp. Wear a nerve gear not an Amusphere. If you come in using an Amusphere, I'll delete Yui. I have access to your local nerve gear saves, don't test me. I'll request to teleport you to my position once you're in. Don't keep me waiting, it won't bode well for Yui. Signed, Lisbeth's old friends."

"Ffff-" Asuna walked into his room, under his breath he finished, "udge."

"K-Kirito? W-what happened to Paradise?" Kazuto was afraid this might happen, Asuna of course had her own pass code into Paradise and the couple could bring whoever they liked into Paradise. Maybe Asuna had wanted to show Lisbeth the newest changes.

"Um... It was the work of our... Friends."

"The-they did this?" Tears clung to her eyes.

"Yes."

Asuna broke down just as Kazuto had earlier. Falling to her knees she clutched her heart, in the same way she did when she lost Yui. Kazuto embraced her on the floor. Rika came in shortly after, opening her mouth to ask what the fuss was, but stopped in her tracks upon seeing the couple's sorrow.

"Wh-what happened?"

"The laughing coffin members-" Asuna managed,

"They destroyed Paradise." Kazuto said coldly.

"The-they- Paradise?! This is all my fault" she said burying her face in her hands.

"Not at all. Someone would've come for us sooner or later."

"Kirito... Are you not sad? You can cry with Asuna, if it brings comfort I will leave."

"I've done crying. Nows the time for good ol' payback. I'm going into ALOat 2:30. They're going to be there. And I'm going to finish them. For Yui. For Paradise. For my friends, Asuna and family. For me."

Kazuto comforted Asuna and lay her on his bed.

"I'm coming." Asuna said, cold and harsh.

"No. You're not."

"Don't start this 'It's dangerous' bull with me. I'm coming. End of story."

"I couldn't bear to see you hurt."

'I'll be more hurtful if you die while you're in there and I wasn't there to help you. Now. Grab my nerve gear."

"No. You're using my sister's Amusphere. Less dangerous. I don't care if you want to die with me, I won't let that happen."

"Bu- Fine."

"I'm coming too." Lisbeth stated.

"No way. Nor losing any more people than I have to."

"I have my own amusphere with me. Plus, This is partly my battle, these people scarred me, I'm going to lay down some hurt." Rika cracked her knuckles.

"Fine. If you're wearing an Amusphere."

Lisbeth ran off downstairs to get the Amusphere. Kazuto leaned down so his breath tickled Asuna's skin.

"I love you, more than anything. If I die in there, promise me, promise me you'll live on."

"I-I... Only for you, Kirito-kun."

"Thank you honey." Kazuto leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, Asuna wrapped her arms around Kazuto's neck and pulled him down, deepening the kiss. A few moments went by, they broke off and hugged once more.

"See you on the other side Yukki. Whether it be in death or back in reality."

"See you Kirigaya. I'll love you forevermore."

"Lisbeth. I'm honoured to have been your friend."

"Don't be. I'm not that honourable if I've brought this upon you. This is my time for redemption."

"Understood. But that doesn't change anything. See you on the other side."

He lay next to Asuna holding her hand and waited for the time. At 2:29 all three shouted, Link start!

~ALO

Kazuto landed in his usual spawn point, inside his house, but then was instantly requested to transport to the location.

"Welcome Kirito. To the world tree! You've been here before, I know, But isn't it magnificent? This platform is at the very top. A dueling platform, created by Oberon. Or Sugou. This is where our final battle will take place. Two guild members are here for your friends. To preoccupy them while we have our fight. Now. There are some rules, Firstly as you might have expected, your nerve gear is set to kill you on death. However, we can't have an unfair fight can we? Mine is also set to kill. I just used a little hack tool that integrates with Kayaba's system, don't worry about it, it'll work. Secondly, the duel will be to the death, it will not end until one of us is dead, whether it be you or me."

"Why? Why do all this?"

"It's simple really, but rather pathetic. I feel worthless, I fell like there's nothing left to live for. In Sao I felt powerful, meaningful, here, not so much. I don't want revenge on you for ending Sao or something like that. I want a rewarding death. A Sao death. One in battle, with the strongest of them all. So I provoked you, attacked your friends, attacked your paradise, attacked Yui, so you had a reason to kill me. So. Fight your hardest. If I can beat you, I can be meaningful again! The killer of the hero of Sao, imagine it!"

"I'm going to make this quick, You attack me? Bad decision. You attack my friends worse decision. You attack my Daughter and Girlfriend? One of the worst decisions you could make. But you destroy something that I created to make them happy? And then watch as they crumble in Agony? I'm going to show you my dark side, I'm going to rip your throat out of your neck, and feed it you. I'm going to be the monster you see in you nightmares, except this time, you won't wake up." Kazuto unleashed his inhuman battle cry.

Asuna dropped into the branches of the world tree, slamming against the hard bark. "Oof!" Landing on her face, her HP drilled down to 3 quarters.

"Welcome Asuna. That fall looked fun! My partner up there fighting Kirito-kun has no time for the likes of you, so I'm here to stop you. Now my partner would also heal you, just for it to be a fair fight, unfortunately for you, I will do no such thing." The mysterious man pulled out two switchblades, which he flicked out and in a couple of times just to look cool.

This moment in which he was showing off gave Asuna a small chance to asses and strategize. Her thought process speed up, making the world feel as if in slow motion, Switchblades, If I can somehow manage to applied the correct force it the correct direction at the correct time, the switchblades have a chance of flicking into my hands, if I can do that my rapier can finish him in the opening.

"Bring it." Asuna felt wrong taunting in such a way, but laughing coffin wasn't worth any decency. She dodged right and left, drawing her rapier across her body diagonally, inflicting a medium amount of damage, his health wavering over the two thirds line.

Now that Asuna had made her first move the fight was about who could dodge first, fastest and most agile. The lower their bodies were, the more difficult the next strike for the opponent would be. This continued for a couple of minutes which, in the midst of battle, felt more like 10.

Both were nearing the end of their physical limit, dodging and attacking becoming slower every second, both health bars barely wavered in the yellow zone, one hit could kill them, or drag them deep into the red zone, until Asuna managed it. She snapped her palm upwards using her free wrist into his nose causing a stumble, she followed his footsteps and jumped into he air, she then kicked the hands tightly gripping his switchblades, forcing them to flick back, giving Asuna space. She twisted his fingers and, sheathing her blade, snapped the switchblades back down and span them into her hands.

"Wow...These things are really cool, too bad they're incredibly inconvenient in battle."

"So what're you gonna do now? You kill me and I respawn with my switchblades, You leave me and I'll come back for you. You can't win."

"Yes I can. Did you know that dismemberment in this game lasts for over ten minutes to heal if cut cleanly and in the correct place?"

"Oh...Oh god no... Please! He said not to tell you this but pain on the battlefield has been doubled for our duels, the finger twisting hurt enough but cutting off my limbs? Please!" Asuna remembered the strikes stinging more than they should've but obviously didn't notice while fighting.

"...Kirito-kun... Damn you!" She sent a boot to his jaw,  
"Kirito-kun is in battle right now, taking double the amount of pain?! I should kill you... I should make you feel pain..." Asuna quietly mumbled to her self as she points her blade at him.

"You follow me, and I'll cut your limbs off one by one. Understand?"

"*gulp* Understood."

"Good."

~On the other side of the tree.

Lisbeth landed roughly in her bright red armour, she whimpered quietly and rose to her feet. Equipping her double edged hand axe she recently forged. She checked her surroundings.

"Looking for something?"

"So this is what you look like in game, Dredger?" Rika spat.

"Uh-huh. The beating at your house was unexpected, but now we can properly get down to business. You remember this look, don't you? My iconic cannibal mask and my cameoed coat, god I miss this look. Now, my scythe and I have been missing the screams of a human as they died, you wouldn't mind reminding us, would you?"

"Sorry, I'm all out of screams. Guess I'll have to disappoint."

"No no, don't be silly, we'll find something locked away down there." Rika stood in her battle stance, her axe hung over her shoulder, her throwing knife at the ready.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! If you like this sort of action drama romance thingy, what do you think of Lisbeth's weaponry? Let me know! I have more fluff installed for the next chapters don't worry! It's not going to be complete and utter action! Unless you want it that is... Please review and or Pm! And thanks for the support!**


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